The End Of The Beginning
by 04JETTA
Summary: What would have happened if Sora, Donald and Goofy went missing at the end? What would everyone's reactions have been? What could have transpired in that time? Alternate ending to KH III.
1. The Realm of Darkness

**Alrighty everyone, I'm going to keep this as short as I can ****PLEASE PLEASE**** read this before starting my story as there are some important details. I have nothing against Nomura or anyone at Disney/SE. I respect that KH III is part of Nomura's vision, however I disagree with the way the ending was handled, not just what happened in the last four seconds but the entire ending sequence. I was expecting more payoff in terms of the characters and the story, and a lot more background. Also the way they handled Kairi's development was just honestly a bit of a letdown, and Namine…..…..I digress. Once I finished the game I just felt…empty. All this time has gone by when I was waiting for it and, then it's just kind of over? Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some highlights, playing alongside Kairi and Axel was pretty amazing, and I love the trio reunion cut scenes. Also yes I'm aware that there will be DLC in the near future, but I have to judge the game/story for what it Is today and ultimately I just couldn't accept that this was the ending to the saga, so I decided to write my own. **

**For what it's worth I didn't hate the game by any means, to be honest I really liked it. I just didn't love it, even as much as I wanted to it just wasn't enough. I respect if people liked the ending, I even respect if people don't like some of the decisions I ended up making or things I ended up changing. That's fine, but please let's all be respectful and considerate in the comments.**

**Now with that out of the way, I want to go over some basics. I will try and reply to every comment at the beginning of the chapter, please do not get offended if you don't get a response. I am human, and like everyone else I make mistakes sometimes. Also be forewarned, I wrote this all myself and I do not have an editor. I've done my best to remove grammar mistakes but in the event I've missed any, I am sorry in advance for it. Next up, when will chapters be uploaded? The plan is for me to release a new chapter every 2 days. I do not have an exact time when chapters will go live, but I will push to have them up as soon as possible. Again this time is ****NOT**** guaranteed but I will do my best. There will be ****ONE**** day where more than one chapter is uploaded, and I will explain why later in the story. Any chapters that are more on the long side will be broken up using the symbol KH. If you're still reading this and have decided to give my story a shot, thank you very much I greatly appreciate it, if not I respect that as well. **

**Also want to give a shout out to Runa, CometEJay00, and Iamkingdomhearts1000, there are seriously entire segments I would not have been able to do without these three so thank you all so much! Without further ado, when you're ready Chapter 1 is down below. Take a deep breath, you're in for an adventure **

**As a wise person once said:**

**Roses are red**

**Violets are blue**

**I no own**

**So you no sue**

**All rights belong to the Walt Disney Company/Square Enix Co Ltd.**

In Radiant Garden Vexen and Demyx were having a quiet discussion. Demyx's eyes grew wide "Whaaa"

"Quiet you dunce!" Vexen replied placing his hand over Demyx's mouth before slowly removing it.

"But dude, why would you pick me?"

"I cannot let the chosen catch wind of this, understand?"

"Oh I see! Its because I got benched!"

"I got benched too!"

"Wha-hey quiet" he said covering his hand over Vexen's mouth momentarily.

Demyx continued "Okay man, look. Real talk? Backstabbing those guys would be stupid. If they find out, we are yesterday's toast. I mean, what's in it for me?"

Vexen paused and then turned around "Forgiveness"

"Huh? For what?"

"Men like us-in the pursuit of science, we sometimes make terrible mistakes. Lost sight of our mission to help people. But now I can help someone with my research. Now, I can atone."

"Hmph, I'm not a scientist" he turned and began to walk away.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Vexen said grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him back around.

"Cmon dude, I'm useless we're not friends. I can count the number of times you and I have hung out on one hand, no less than one hand! I didn't even know you in the old life!"

"Fine! Fine! But listen!" He leaned in close and whispered something into Demyx's ear,

His eyes widened "No way!"

"Its true. The whole thing was his idea"

"Huh? No stinkin way"

"He wants to atone too. But he is one of the chosen so his hands are tied. Hence my actions on his behalf, hence my need for you to act on my behalf should all go awry. As you said, we are far from friends. No one would ever suspect you."

"Hmmmm…so I'm not doing any fighting?"

"Correct. And more importantly, no benchwarming."

"Ha! Yeah baby! Sign me up! Demyx time!"

Meanwhile, Ienzo at the computer still studying endless data. "We've come a long way to our goal, but without…..yeah right. Bodies don't grow on trees Ienzo. It's the backup plan or nothing now. But the backup plan isn't a true solution" unbeknownst to Ienzo, just behind him a corridor of darkness appeared.

"Finally. About time."

He turned around suddenly to see Demyx walking out of it, carrying what appeared to be a large white blanket draped over his shoulder.

"Ohhh. Nice place."

"Demyx? Is that you?!"

"Hey Zexion! Long time!" he set the massive blanket down to the ground. "How's humanity treatin ya? I rejoined the Nobodies, but like I just can't shake the feeling I've been sweet talked, y'know? We have soooo got to have a chat"

"Whoa, back up what?"

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm actually here on a top secret mission. Apparently I'm so off everyone's radar, that I'm just the guy to handle a special delivery" with that he turned around and walked back toward the darkness corridor, before moving to the side. "Ta-da!" suddenly another lone figure stepped out.

Ienzo's eyes grew wide "Master Ansem!"

"Ah, well met little Ienzo"

"They told me you'd gone mad. That you abandoned us. I was just a boy, but I should've known better. I am truly deeply sorry"

Ansem stepped closer, grabbing both of his shoulders."I think what matters is that you recognize the mistake. Peace, Ienzo. It was I who was consumed by hatred, who failed you in my obligations as your mentor. Forgive me."

Demyx as always had to be his normal self by ruining the moment. "Um excuse me…..soo uh, are we cool to get on with things here?" they turned to the blanket lying on the ground "Got ya a present from Vexen, this was all he could manage for the time being but hey, he figured you guys would know what to do with them" Ienzo's widened and he moved in for a closer look. Leaning down he unzipped the blanket "Wait, why are there…" he turned to Ansem in confusion "Master?"

"There's much for me to explain Ienzo…"

"Well if all is well here, I'm gonna get going" Demyx said moving towards the corridor.

"Where are you headed?" Ienzo asked.

Demyx smirked "Heh, somewhere the organization won't find me, good luck with your experiments" before anyone could say anything else, he stepped into the corridor which promptly closed behind him.

_Much much later on…._

Sora sat at the controls of the gummy ship, pondering potential next steps. They had just completed the San Fransokyo world, which was a nightmare to say the least "Where to next?" he blurted out loud.

Goofy scratched his head "Well gawsh maybe we should-" suddenly his gummiphone pinged, and then pinged again and again. Sora dug it out of his pocket "What the, what's wrong with this thing?" numerous missed calls and text messages flooded the screen. Sora scrolled through "There must be over 100 messages here!" suddenly the gummiphone began to ring.

Sora immediately hit the green button, and to their surprise Ienzo appeared "Sora! Donald! Goofy! You're alive"

"Ienzo, I got a bunch of messages what's going on?"

He sighed "Y-you've been missing three years"

"WHAAAAT" Donald and Goofy got out of their seats and moved up to the phone, firing off questions. First Donald, then Goofy, then back and forth it went.

"Where's the king?"

"Is everybody alright?"

"What happened to the organization?"

Sora fought to get a word in, but again was pushed towards the back. "You guys have got a lot to catch up on but we'll just have to get to that later. The most pressing thing right now is that the King and Riku are in danger"

"What kind of danger? Are they-"

"GUYS!" Sora called out at the top of his lungs. They jumped in shock, "Can I get a word in please? Sit down, you can hear it from your seats"

"No need to be rude about it" Donald complained moseying over to his chair.

Goofy sat in his seat as well "Sorry Sora"

"Its fine, ok so what's going on with the king and Riku?"

"They're in the realm of darkness, no one's been able to reach them for quite a while"

_"Wait who are you talking to?" _a voice said from the background.

Suddenly the phone shifted "Axel!"

"Where the heck have you guys been?!"

"That's what we need to figure out, but after we rescue the king"

"You know Kairis really been really worried about ya"

"Tell her I'm alright and that I'll see her soon, got it memorized?"

Axelsmiled "Ha will do, here's Ienzo again" the phone moved back over to him.

"So how do we get to 'em?" Donald inquired.

"Now we can ask?" Sora added.

Everyone ignored his question, "Its not like we can use that old door anymore, its completely gone" Goofy pointed out.

Sora nodded "Yeah we defeated it after beating Ansem"

"And we certainly can't ask the king or Riku"

"Because you wouldn't let me ask"

Ienzo stepped in "King Mickey is the only one who can open a door to the realm of darkness. He has a special Keyblade of darkness that can open the way to-" suddenly the phone went dead the plethora of messages having drained the battery.

"Now what do we do?" Donald asked.

Sora thought it over "May my heart be my guiding key…it'll show us the way!" summoning his keyblade, he pointed it outward. A beam of light appeared at the end, opening a worm hole for them to fly through. "A gate!" they all said simultaneously.

Sora took the controls "Everyone strap in, here we go" reaching down he hit the warp button and the gummi ship shot through at nearly the speed of light. Moments later, they descended through the world's atmosphere "Wait a minute, I know this world…..its Destiny Island!" Sora exclaimed. Sure enough his home island soon came into view, and he steered the gummy ship towards the beach, smiling as the raft they'd built as kids was still there.

After landing, they stepped out "I think I know where we can go, follow me" he lead them around the beach to the waterfall.

"I wonder why that gate took us here" he blurted out loud, suddenly he stopped at the sight of a mysterious Keyblade laying at his feet. He picked it up in curiosity, it had a smooth grey shaft, a boxy guard made up of two light grew boxes with a square grip with E shaped teeth at the end.

"It looks so old!" Donald added.

Sora turned it around in his hand "How did it end up here?"

"Hmm maybe it's another guiding key"

"To guide us where?" he looked at the Keyblade once more, and then held it out in front of him. Almost immediately a blue beam of light fired off towards the cave where him and Kairi used to play as kids, causing a doorway to appear. They rush up to it in surprise.

"A door?" Goofy pointed out.

"Lets go!" Donald added.

Sora sighed "Not you guys. The realm of darkness isn't safe for you"

"Forget it. I'm going" Donald complained.

"Yeah. You can't make a whole pint without us." Goofy added.

Sora turned to them and shook his head, "Come on guys think about it. Even the king and Riku struggle in the realm of darkness. Someone needs to stay out here just in case, if something happens to the rest of us you two need to carry on"

"Sora….stop it!" Donald breathed.

"We understand but we don't want you going someplace dangerous on your own"

"Thanks guys but I'll be fine, I'll make sure Riku and the king are safe. Trust me."

They hesitated for a moment, "You promise to be good?" Donald asked.

"And come home nice and safe?"

"Absolutely" with that he turned to the door and walked towards it.

Meanwhile in the realm of darkness, Riku and Mickey were having problems of their own. "Riku!" King Mickey stated, he turned to see a tower of darkness headed his way, before it could react he felt himself be knocked back several feet.

"Huh?" he looked down to see the tower sneaking up from underneath his feet, before sweeping him away "Ahhhhhhhh" his Keyblade slipped out of his hand, dropping to the ground below.

Riku's sat in shock, watching helplessly as the tower carried the king away into a dark mysterious orb, which seconds later disappeared. Then, silence. The soothing sound of waves crashing up against the beach filled his ears. "Now what do I do? Maybe I'm gonna be trapped here just like-" suddenly a beam of light came down from the sky, creating a cloud of dirt. Riku summoned his Keyblade, ready for a fight "Riku!" for the most part Riku looked exactly the same, although slightly taller. his eyes grew wide as the one person he'd never lost hope would return stepped forward

"Sora?"

Sora rushed up to him "Are you ok?" he stood up slowly, wondering if this was some kind of figment of his imagination. Reaching out he touched Sora's shoulder "You're real"

"Of course I'm real now-"

"Where the heck have you been?!"

Sora sighed "Look I'm not sure what happened, right after we lifted off I get a bunch of messages on my gummiphone"

Riku sighed "Well I'm just glad you're ok"

He smiled "Worried about me?" "Huh, right. Kairis another story"

Sora's face softened. "She ok?"

Riku shook his head, "We can catch up later, right now the kings been taken by a tower of darkness"

"What?! Oh no! Did you guys find Aqua?"

"No, we've been coming here everyday since…" suddenly the dark orb reappeared in the sky. A purple light illuminated from its center, and then an explosion of darkness escaped in the shape of a human body. They both gasped n shock as they saw Mickey's sad face trapped inside the orb, the dark body landed on its feet and walked over to the king's Keyblade.

Reaching down it picked it up "This Keyblade" a girl's voice said.

"Is it her?" Mickey said, then the darkness faded away and standing there before them, was Aqua.

"Mickey" she turned to face them, her formerly sapphire blue eyes now a shade of bright yellow "You're too late"

"Aqua?" Riku said in shock.

"What happened?" Mickey asked.

"You **abandoned** me, that's what. Left me in this shadow prison for more than a **decade**, knowing what it would do to me….."

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault"

Aqua turned and walked out past the shoreline onto the water. "I reached this shore after endless wandering. Waited forever for help to arrive. But no one ever came. I lost my Keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the heartless. You should have known I was stranded. Do you have any idea how lonely it is here? How frightening it is to have no one?" she sighed, taking a moment to remember what she'd lost in that time. "All that's left in my heart is misery and despair….and now" she turned around to face Sora and Riku. "You can share it"

Riku took a breath, and began walking towards her, stopping just before the waterline "There's no need, got my own" his mind flashed with the memory of when he was lost to darkness. Then he summoned his Keyblade in front of him, but before he could do anything the orb containing Mickey shifted. It then changed form into a demon tower. Taking a deep breath, he charged towards the tower head on.

Riku immediately went towards the center where the king was, taking several swings at it. It then shifted form, angling itself sideways and knocking him to his feet. Getting back up, he summoned dark break swiftly attacking it from above. The second Riku hit the ground, it struck him again, knocking his health to almost zero. He quickly used heal to recover, and started swinging at its base. It then struck him twice more before disappearing into the ground. He looked around to see where it could be, before seeing it reappear over his shoulder. The tower dove towards him headfirst, but not before leaped up into the air "Ahhhhhhhhhh" flinging his body downward, he slammed his Keyblade into the tower finishing it once and for all.

The tower disintegrated and tossed Mickey to the ground. Riku ran over to check on him, but just as he reached the King Aqua charged at them with full force. Riku turned at the last possible second, just as Aqua swung her Keyblade causing a tower of water to cover them. When everything settled, there was Sora blocking her with the Keyblade he'd found. With a quick swing he pushed her back several feet.

"Sora…"

He turned to Riku who had that worried look in his eyes. "Watch over the king, I've got this" he turned back around to face Aqua, and then a split second later they began to battle.

**That's it for chapter 1, just a sneak peak of what's to come. Let me know what you think of the concept, and well anything else really. See you in the next chapter! **


	2. Right Where I Left Him

**Hello all, hope you enjoyed that last chapter. Here are my replies to the comments. Enjoy!**

**Gracekim20: Thank you ****. Yes I was having issues with the uploader, it has been fixed now. Sorry about that. **

**Iamkingdomhearts1000: I am sorry that my choice of words came off that way that was not my intention, I was just trying to show emotion. Also I am glad you bought that up, I do have an explanation for the time skip that will be explained in later chapters. Please be patient with me, I know this story is unconventional but there is a method to my madness. **

**Also I want to thank hopepluseggo Gracekim20, and Ignika for following! Also Guy-tom for the favorite, without further adou, onward! **

Sora charged towards her, ready to attack only to have her disappear in a circle of darkness. A split second later he sensed her reappear behind him. Quickly turning on his heels he headed towards her, until yet again she vanished. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see three Aquas, all firing off a powerful magic spell which he barely managed to dodge. Then she disappeared again, however this time she reappeared just a few feet away. Sora leapt into action, taking several quick powerful swings at her midsection before she disappeared again. Before he could blink, she reappeared to the left of him and attack with lightning speed. He attempted to take a swing at her again, only for her to vanish.

When she reappeared once again there weren't just one of her, there was many. Not wasting a single second, he made quick work of all the copies and focused on the real Aqua. He managed to get in a few solid hits, before Aqua used barrier surge deflecting his attack. He hissed in pain, before summoning a cure and jumping back into the fight. She disappeared again, however the second she reappeared he took no chances. He summoned anti-form and really began hitting her. Even with her fast teleporting abilities and strong attacks, he was able to dodge most of them and do an impressive amount of damage, getting her down to the last health bar.

Aqua then summoned magic hour, however this time Sora saw it coming. He dodged out of the way, and then lept up as high as he could. Before she had a chance to teleport, he flung his body downward spinning around and around. Then in the blink of an eye, he hit his target creating a massive wave of water at least 5 stories tall. Aqua stood up to try and fight again, only to stagger backwards into the water before everything went black.

When she awoke, she found herself floating underwater "So this is it. This is how I end"

"Is it now?"

She frowned, "That voice…..Master Eraqus?"

"Haven't I taught you better?"

She sighed "I gave into the darkness, I became exactly what I've been fighting against"

"Aqua. Your heart is stronger than you think, you can still be a guardian in this war"

"How?!"

"By letting your heart be your guiding key, a true guardian of light doesn't walk away from their responsibilities"

"Am I dead?"

"Only if you give into the darkness, if you let it consume your heart once more"

She shook her head "I….I won't. Not again, I'll fight it this time I'll make you proud"

"You already have Aqua, you already have"

"Master?"

"One last thing"

Suddenly a white orb appeared in front of her. "Take the orb with your hand"

She cautiously reached out and did so, the second it touched her fingers her entire body glowed a bright blue and she felt a surge of energy. "Wh-what was that"

"That, is something I should've given you long ago. Your heart will know the right time for its use"

"Thank you master"

"Aqua. I'm afraid our time has run out"

"No! Don't go!"

"I'm not, I'll always be with you. Goodbye Aqua."

"No! Come back!" suddenly she heard another voice "Aqua!" "S-Sora?" she saw his hand reach out towards her. Taking a deep breath she reached back, then just before their hands could touch, the world went dark once more.

When she came to, she saw Ventus and Terra standing over her. "Ven? Terra?" her vision blurred before refocusing to see Sora and Riku instead.

"Aqua!" Sora said.

"Thank goodness, you're awake!" King Mickey added.

Sora smiled "Welcome back"

"Mickey….Are these the destiny islands?"

"That's right" King Mickey replied.

She sat up "When did they fall to darkness?"

Riku smiled "You're in the realm of light" her eyes widened slightly. A wave of emotion washed over her, happiness, disbelief, joy. I'll make you proud master.

"You're home" Sora said as they all gathered around her giving her a welcoming hug.

She smiled "Thanks you guys"

"Don't mention it, welcome home!" King Mickey said.

She smiled "How did you…." Aqua stammered.

Sora smiled and pulled out the keyblade he'd found "I found this nearby" her breath caught in her throat as she took it from him. This must be how he reached out to me, I won't let you down Master "Your majesty, can you hang onto it?" he nodded and took it from her. Then her eyes widened "Ventus….."

King Mickey nodded "You know where he is?"

Aqua smiled "Right where I left him"

**KH**

They split up, with only Sora Donald and Goofy going with Aqua, while the others returned to Master Yen Sid to give him the news. They walked through a mystical place filled with fog, "You sure about this Aqua?" Goofy asked.

"If you want, we can take you back to Master Yen Sid's tower to rest with Riku and the King" Sora added.

She nodded "Thank you, but…Ven's expecting me. I promised to wake him. Said I'd be right back, but I'm not even close. I'm in for an earful" suddenly she slowed as they reached an oddly shaped building. It featured several towers, some pointing upward others to the left and right. Sora Donald and Goofy looked around curiously, as Aqua closed her eyes and held her hand to her chest. Donald went to say something but thankfully Goofy blocked his mouth as a split second later, Aqua summoned her Keyblade pointing it towards the front door.

Their eyes grew wide as a single beam fire out of it, once it hit the front door, it formed a keyhole and released an enormous amount of light. Aqua took a deep breath, and putting one foot forward held her Keyblade out in front of her. It once again fired another blue beam of energy into the glowing keyhole, releasing a shockwave of energy. Then suddenly the formerly lifeless building began to awake, quickly shifting back to its normal appearance. Filling with color, the towers moved back to their original positions and soon the sky became completely clear. There right in front of them, was Castle Oblivion.

"Woah! Can you teach me to do that?" Sora blurted without thinking.

"Sora!" Donald squawked

Aqua giggled slightly "Lets go" the trio nodded, and the door of them headed up the stairs to the front entrance.

They walked into the great hall, the three of them mesmerized by its sheer beauty. Aqua stopped and turned to them "Ready?" they nodded and continued following her upstairs. There sitting in the middle of the throne, was Ventus appearing to be in a deep sleep. Aqua immediately ran over to check on him "Ven" she breathed, reaching up to touch the side of his face light. Sadly there was no response, she leaned in closer, cradling his head with both hands "I'm sorry it took so long" she breathed holding him for a moment before pulling away. "Ven, wake up. Open your eyes, please!" there was no response, "Why? Your heart never found its way home?" sadly this somber moment was then ruined, by the last person she wanted to see.

"That was a neat trick."

Sora and the others turned to see who it was.

"No wonder no one could find him" there stood a lone figure with a black and red outfit that looked more like medieval armor. His boots and pants were completely black, the bottom of his top hung loose around his legs, twirling in the air as he walked towards them. It grew tight up top, covering his arms entirely, topped off with a full facemask to hide his identity.

Sora moved into his battle stance "Vanitas!"

Aqua moved forward "Why are you here?"

"Oh I'm sorry to interrupt your touching reunion, but surely you won't begrudge me a moment with my brother?"

Sora summoned his Keyblade and along with Donald and Goofy, charged him head on. Vanitas smirked and teleported quickly out of the way, reappearing atop of the throne where Ventus was. Aqua looked around confused until she noticed Sora, Donald, and Goofy who seemed to be looking behind her. She quickly turned around, gasping in shock "Get away!" Vanitas smirked "So, Venty-Wenty wants to keep sleeping. What am I ever going to do with you" "Shut up!" Aqua proclaimed, summoning her Keyblade and leaping up to where he was. She leaped forward, swinging her Keyblade towards him, but it was futile.

Vanitas summoned his Keyblade, blocking the shot completely, "You better settle down there. Master." Using one hand without getting up, he swung back, shoving Aqua back and forcing her to return to the ground. "Aqua. I'll handle him!" Sora said, Aqua shook her head "No. I'm ending this" "But, you haven't recovered yet" she turned to face him "Sorry, but you've seen me too weak, too often. Now its my turn to shine" she waved her hand in front of her, creating a impenetrable barrier around the two of them. "Aqua!" the three of them called. Moving into their battle stance, the fight began.

**KH**

Aqua jumped up high in the air, "Firaga!" massive boulder size balls of fire reigned down towards Vanitas, who simply teleported out of the way, "Too slow" Aqua turned around, blocking his attack by seconds. She used the force of the hit to front flip her body over him "Thundaga!" lightning zapped out of her Keyblade, and although it didn't hit him it did hit the ground. The resulting shockwave was unavoidable and Vanitas hissed briefly in pain before disappearing out of the way. Aqua landed back on her feet, just as Vanitas reappeared behind her, firing off a multitude of dark energy shots all of which Aqua was able to reflect. I've got this, he's not going to- suddenly she found herself screaming out in pain as Vanitas teleported just behind her, before smashing his Keyblade into her midsection.

Her body was thrown back several feet before she was able to heal herself. She jumped back into the fight before he could make a second attempt. The fight went on, Vanitas teleported faster and more frequently. Aqua using a combination of magic and melee to do damage, while Vanitas relying on his teleportation abilities and the power of darkness. However there was one thing Vanitas did not have above all else that Aqua had lots of, heart and soon Vanitas' health was beginning to deteriorate. However, as it turned out there was some truth to what Sora had been saying, and after more than a decade off the battlefield Aqua soon found herself in trouble, even as much as she hated Vanitas her body was running out of stamina.

Vanitas stopped suddenly and began laughing at the top of his lungs "That's it?! Oh yeah, your time to shine alright!" she squinted, got….to keep…..going.

He smirked "Looks like I'll get my moment with my brother after all"

"Aqua! Let us in!" Sora called.

Aqua sighed but did nothing, her sapphire eyes looked up as Vanitas began charging towards her. I can't…I can't do this. Terra. Ven. I let you guys down, please forgive me. She shut her eyes and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Confused, she opened her eyes, but Vanitas wasn't there, in fact neither was Ven.

She looked around in confusion, before gasping aloud and looking down. Ten feet below her was the floor, with Ven, Sora Donald and Goofy. "So this is what Master Eraqus was talking about"

Vanitas floated across from her. "Well, looks like you don't know when to give up" she summoned her Keyblade and expanded the barrier to protect the castle, and more importantly Ventus from damage. "This ends now" before he could respond, she attacked.

She moved forward at full speed, Vanitas summoned his Keyblade leaping forward as well, their Keyblades clashed releasing a huge amount of energy. This put an enormous amount of pressure on the barrier, and at the edges it began to crack, but still held. Again and again they attacked each other, using a variety of aerial spells, magic and melee at various different angles. Then just as Aqua appeared ready to end the fight, Vanitas vanished once more only to appear underneath her. Aqua immediately front flipped around to block him. However to her shock, he vanished yet again only to reppear at her side "Too slow" before she could respond, he smashed his Keyblade into her as hard as he could. Aqua's body fell helplessly to the floor, her Keyblade soon vanished. Vanitas landed gracefully on the ground, walking up to her as she gasped for air. He smirked, and moved his Keyblade into position to finish the job. "Aqua!" Sora called, then suddenly his heart throbbed, and the room disappeared.

He found himself deep inside in the station of Awakening, high above a mural of himself , Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy.

Suddenly, Ventus began to speak "I…..have to wake up…."

"Yes. Tell me what to do"

"The power of waking"

"I can't. I still don't have it yet"

"You never lost it…..it sleeps…..until someone needs it…calls to it"

"I am calling, with all my heart" suddenly Sora found himself inside the station itself. He held his Keyblade out in front of him, and a keyhole soon appeared, which the Keyblade then promptly unlocked seconds later. His body floated up into the air, and the platform disappeared. Seconds later, a new one emerged with Ventus on the front. Sora took a deep breath, and held out his Keyblade once more. A beam of white light fired out from the end, touching Ventus' heart on the mural. "Thank you for always keeping me safe, Sora…" suddenly a bright white orb shot upward and made headed towards its rightful owner.

Then back in the realm of light, just as Vanitas was about to finish Aqua, Ventus intervened leaping out of the chair and hurling his body towards Vanitas, smashing through the barrier with immense force "Aqua!" He swung his Keyblade with full force at lightning speed, Vanitas completely caught off guard was unable to block. The force of impact was so strong it cracked his helmet in half obliterating what was left out his health. His body flew backwards nearly 50 feet, before rolling up to Sora's feet.

Sora jumped in surprise as it almost felt as though he was looking in a mirror, "Your face…."

"I'm the piece of Ventus that was taken away. And you're the piece Ventus needed to be whole again. So….why shouldn't you and I look exactly the same? You define me Sora, the same way that Ventus does. We are brothers who together make a greater whole"

"Not anymore" Ventus said, they all looked up to see him. "No brother of mine would go after Aqua like that"

Aqua slowly stood up, still attempting to catch her breath. "Ven-"

"Just relax Aqua. I got this"

Vanitas took a breath "Ventus….."

"What?".

"I fear this may be the last time we see one another. I hope you know…I hope you know why I did the things I did. Brother." Ventus' face softened but the words he was looking for never came. "In another life then….you all…..take care of each other…." Then just like that, he faded into darkness once and for all.

Suddenly Aqua fell to the ground once more, causing everyone to race over to her side. Ventus helped Aqua to her feet "Aqua, are you alright?" Sora inquired.

She turned to him "Yes I'm fine Sora"

"Wait, you're Sora?" Ventus breathed.

"Yeah I am, hey Ventus" he said reaching out to shake his hand.

Ventus shook it briefly before letting go. "You were my second chance….call me Ven"

Aqua reached out and lightly grabbed his head "Good morning Ven"

He turned to her "Good morning, Aqua"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, bit of a long nap"

She shook her head, "I mean, Vanitas I know you two were…."

"Oh….I meant what I said, no one I trust would go after you like that"

She hesitated, before giving a nod. "Ok, just checking and um….well-"

"I think the word you're looking for is thank you" Goofy said bluntly.

Aqua smiled "Yes, correct"

Ventus smiled back, "Don't mention it."

"Its good to have you back you know?"

He yawned, "So much for be right back. What's it been five years?"

She smiled awkwardly "Well anyways, I'm just glad you're ok"

"Thank you for protecting me as well" she nodded, before turning back to Sora and the gang "Always. So Sora? Where to now?"

"Well my gummiphone is dead, I guess we can head to Twilight Town. That's where Riku and the King are headed" everyone nodded before turning around and running towards the exit.

**KH**

Shortly after, the gummy ship exited hyperspace and there off in the distance was Twilight Town.

Sora punched in the numbers for landing, "I wonder what's changed?"

"Well only one way to find out, ayuck" Goofy said, stating the obvious as always.

Moments later they touched down, and made their way downhill into the tram common.

"Everything pretty much looks-"

"Sora!" he turned to see Axel who was wearing black paints and a black button up shirt with a plaid pattern in the middle and a hood behind it, next to him was someone else he didn't recognize. She was wearing a form fitting one piece mini dress. The sleeveless dress started at her mid-thigh, and was a mixture of two colors. A deep red at the bottom with a gradual change to dark pink at the top, a zipper in the middle held it together while two pink shoulder straps held up the rest. She stood tall, with long legs and soon Sora felt a strange tingling in his head. It grew stronger when as his gaze moved upward. Her shoulder length hime cut red hair curled outward, leading up to her stunning face. His eyes widened and his mouth opened wide "Kairi?"

Sora's eyes widened as Kairi began walking towards where he was standing, the sight of which was making it impossible for him to speak. Then she was right in front of him, close enough to allow the scene of her perfume to fill his nostrils. "Kairi…..I, I didn't-" he's cut off as she head butts him to the ground.

"Sora you bum! Where the heck have you been?!"

He rubs the back of his head, when did she get so strong? Meanwhile Ventus, Axel, Aqua and everyone else couldn't help but erupt in a fit of laughter. "Kairi…."

"I've been worried sick! Get up!"

Head still spinning he slowly rose to his feet. "I didn't mean-"

He stopped as she pulled him into a tight hug, pushing her soft warm body into his. "I'm so happy you're ok"

He awkwardly hugged her back "I promised I'd come back for you"

"Three years!"

"Sorry"

She broke free "Don't ever do that again! Next time I'm going with you!"

"Kairi-"

"No Sora! Seriously, I can take care of myself now!"

"I….I guess you have changed a bit huh?"

She smiled "Something like that"

Sora hesitated, before giving a nod. "Ok, fine deal"

"Really? You mean that?"

He smiled and scratched his head nervously, "If its alright with Donald and Goofy"

She smiled and peaked her head around to them. Goofy chuckled "You know what they say? The more the merrier!"

Donald scoffed "Well…..just don't get in the way!" Kairi giggled in response.

Axel walked up to join them "Good to have you guys back" they all smiled. Kairi sighed "Now there's a lot to…Sora?"

He felt himself growing dizzy "I don't feel so….."

"Sora? Sora!" he heard her sweet voice say before everything went black.

**DUN DUN DUUNNNNNNN. So there it is, Kairi is now a part of Sora and the gang. Is this a good thing? Bad thing? Let me know in the comments! Also what do ya'll think of her design? Too much or just right? Also I just want to clarify, Sora mentioned Mickey and Riku heading to Twilight Town because Master Yen Sid's tower is accessible through there via train. See ya'll in the next chapter!**


	3. Brisk

**Hello all! Don't have much to say here so I'll keep it short, here is my reply to the comment. Also want to say thank you to pokemansuperallstar for the favorite! **

**Gracekim20: Thank you, I try to keep everyone guessing and I didn't know that about the mysterious tower :O. Oh trust me, the fun has just begun **

Slowly but surely, Sora opened his deep blue eyes back up, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a white bed, in a room that was also completely white. On the walls were various sketches, some of him sleeping, others of Destiny Island, Hollow Bastion and countless others. He sat up quickly "Where am I?" he turned to get out of bed, "What the, I feel different" it almost seemed like the ceiling had gotten a bit lower, and his muscles felt…..strange. Then he found a note on the nightstand next to his gummiphone.

_Sora_

_Sorry had to run and deal with an emergency. Please call me I programmed my number into your phone. We'll explain everything, it'll be ok._

_Kairi_

He immediately grabbed it off the stand, scrolling through before finally finding her number. He hit call and then on the second ring "Sora?"

"Kairi!"

"Thank goodness you're awake, I'm almost there just wait for me ok?"

"A-alright"

"See you soon" the line went dead. Sora put his phone away walked around a bit "This must be Namine's room" he stared at the picture of him being encapsulated into the chamber. "It sure has been a journey" another moment passed, before the door creaked open.

"Sora?" he turned towards voice, mouth gaping open at the sight of Kairi once again.

She smiled "You feeling better?"

He rubbed the back of his head "I think so, what happened? My head is killing me"

She bit her lip "Sorry, I got a bit carried away. Merlin and the others are downstairs in the lab, we'll explain everything" his head tingled once more as he struggled not to stare at her stunning beauty.

"Sora?"

"Hm?"

She giggled "Lets go you lazy bum!"

He smiled nervously "Right, after you"

Shortly after, they made their way into the lab, to find a man wearing a dark red robe with a facemask.

"Ansem!"

"Sora! Glad to have you back"

Merlin nodded "Had us worried there son"

Sora scratched his head nervously, "Sorry"

"Oh its quite alright, tell me Sora how do you feel?"

"Weird I feel….. stronger"

Riku smiled "Come over here"

Sora followed his best friend towards a mirror. "What the?!" Sora stared at his unfamiliar reflection. He also now stood taller and his body seemed to fill out his clothes more, his arms were much larger and more toned while his midsection felt more taut. However the spiky hair he was known for remained unchanged.

Ansem took a breath,"It appears when you visited the last world, someone in the organization used a spell called brisk. This spell is very difficult to learn and very powerful, using it more than once can result in death"

"What?!" Axel blurted.

Merlin nodded "It draws such power from the heart that its almost impossible to come back if you use it a second time"

Ansem continued. "He used that spell on the world you were in, accelerating its rate of time until there was a substantial difference. For every day you spent in that world, a year would pass elsewhere"

"So why do I look different?"

"The spell only works on the world its been casted on, once you leave that world all the time you lost is regained"

Sora's jaw dropped "So you're saying I aged three years?!"

"Exactly"

Sora stared at himself in the mirror, unaware that Kairi was staring as well. She bit her lip as thoughts she would never say out loud raced through her mind.

"Wow, ok so why would he do this?"

"That, we do not know Sora"

I don't even recognize myself he thought "How come my clothes still fit?"

Merlin smiled "I took the liberty of casting a special spell while you were asleep. It allows for your clothes to adjust to all the changes seamlessly"

Sora nodded "Thanks. So why hasn't the organization created Kingdom Hearts?"

"We think its because we didn't have the seven guardians of light they need to form the x-blade" Kairi explained.

Ansem nodded, "Their likely waiting for the opportune moment to strike, there have been attempts in the past. However Kairi, Axel and the others have grown quite a bit stronger. We've had some close calls…"

"But I'm still here" Kairi said with a smile.

Sora turned to her and smiled back, "So what's next?"

Kairi took a breath "First I'm going to get you caught up on all that you missed, then we'll all go meet with Master Yen Sid to figure out what to do next

Ansem nodded "Welcome back Sora"

Moments later, Sora and Kairi headed up to the clock tower, sea salt ice cream in hand. They sat down in front of the setting sun, eating in silence.

"So are you like…..a Keyblade master now?"

Kairi smiled and gave a nod "Merlin trained me and Axel at first, then Master Yen Sid took over"

"That's amazing Kairi"

Her smile grew wider. "I want to protect you, I want you to be able to count on me for help. You, Riku, and everyone else"

He smiled back and took several licks of his ice cream, "What else changed?" Kairi took a breath, and went on explaining what had transpired. Once the spell had set in and with Sora still in San Fransokyo, the other worlds quickly began becoming overrun by heartless, nobodies, and unversed. With Sora missing, Riku and King Mickey looking for Aqua, it was decided that Axel and Kairi would step up and help.

Once their training was complete, they traveled from world to world, battling the organization and the ever growing army of heartless. "So what about Riku and the King? How come they just now found Aqua?"

She sighed "The realm of darkness is a big place, they went there day after day looking for her. She never showed, until you came along"

"Why me?"

"I don't know, I'm just glad you're back"

"How are Hayner Pence and Olette?"

"Their fine, nothing new you know" they sat in silence for a few moments licking away at their popsicles.

"Sora?" he turned to her, struggling not to let his mouth hang open. The setting sun bathed her stunningly beautiful body in pleasant shade of orange, he smiled awkwardly "Yeah?" she sighed taking in his new more muscular frame.

"I want to talk about us?"

"Us?"

"Sora, knock it off. Seriously, how do you see us when this is over?"

"I mean….I…"

She smiled "Just say it you goof" his face turned even more red. Kairi took a breath, reaching out to take his hand for the first time. His mouth hung open as a pleasant warmth spread throughout his body.

"Sora….you feel that?"

"Y-yeah, Kairi I think maybe we should-"

Suddenly her gummiphone rang interrupting their discussion. Kairi sighed, let go and dug the phone out of her pocket "Yes?...Ok fine we're coming"

She hung up "Master Yen Sid wants to meet right now"

"Oh"

"We'll pick this up later ok? I wanna talk to you"

He sighed "I do too"

"Oh and there's one more thing I forgot to tell you, you'll never believe this….."

**So there it is, some SoKai love :3. I will explain everything Kairi mentioned in a series of flashbacks later on. For anyone curious, the spell is based on the theory gravitational time dilation. I will be going into more detail on the spell in a later chapter. How do ya'll like Sora's new look? See ya'll in the next chapter!**


	4. I have some questions

**Again going to keep it short here:**

**GraceKim20: Based on what I could find that's correct, he was 15 in DDD so he would be about 18ish now along with Kairi, Riku would be 19. Although depending on when their birthdays are, they could potentially be a year older in theory (this is my head canon if I'm honest). Sorry about that! I'll try and improve that for future chapters.**

**theCesar09: First of all thank you for the favorite/follow! I greatly appreciate it! I'm not sure exactly how old Lea would be, I could not find anything concrete. Your numbers are probably about right though. As for what Kairi was gonna tell Sora, well you'll have to keep reading ;) **

**Also want to thank Hero of Neutrality for the follow/favorite. Now onward and upward!**

TThey all stood in front of Master Yen Sid's desk, awaiting instructions. Despite the time difference, Yen Sid looked exactly the same.

"At last we all are all assembled. First: Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Kairi, Axel I cannot thank you enough for what you have done" they all smiled. "And you, Aqua and Ventus, we are fortunate to have you back"

Aqua nodded "Thanks, I only wish we could have returned to help sooner" she turned to the others. "We're grateful to all of you for rescuing us" Ventus nodded in agreement, "Thank you"

Riku sighed "Mickey told me that you saved me in the realm of darkness. I should have gone to help you right away. But I was too inexperienced. I'm sorry."

Aqua smiled "Its alright, you saved me this time"

She turned her attention to Sora, "You haven't changed one bit"

He frowned "Huh?"

She smiled "Sora, you probably don't remember"

He scratched his head "Ummmmm, uhhhh not quite"

She giggled slightly "That's ok" her gaze shifted over to behind him. "Kairi?" she said surprised, walking over to where she was standing.

Aqua leaned in close, eyeing the necklace Kairi still wore "Incredible! It is you"

King Mickey frowned in confusion "You know her?"

She turned around to face him, her mind flashing to that moment where her and young Kairi met. "When you and I first met in Radiant Garden, the unversed tried to attack a little girl. Do you remember?"

King Mickey's eyes grew wide "Oh gosh! That little girl was Kairi?" Aqua turned back to face her surprised face. "I guess it must've worked-the spell that I cast on you"

Kairi smiled awkwardly "I'm sorry. Those days are hazy for me. But it sounds like I would've been in trouble without you, so thank you" she bowed her head in respect.

Aqua smiled back "Please. You were really very little. Anyone would forget hazy memory or not, I'm just happy you turned out ok, and you're welcome"

Axel cleared his throat "This is all very touching guys, but where do I fit in?"

Kairi frowned "What do you mean?"

Axel let out a heavy sigh "Ven looks just like Roxas, or is it Roxas looks just like Ven?" Ven frowned in confusion, Axel sighed "And now I have to explain all of that to him- which is in itself a crazy long story. Ugh this is a lot to get memorized!"

"Sorry Lea" Ventus said.

Axel double blinked "You remember me?"

"Of course, we're friends. I can't believe you became a keyblade wielder just like me"

His jaw dropped in shock "Y-yeah"

Sora's mouth hung open "Axel, you know Ven?"

Ventus frowned "Axel?"

Axel sighed "See? Major brain ache" suddenly Jiminy popped out of nowhere and climbed on top of Sora's head.

"Now who?" Axel said surprised.

"Not to worry folks, to help us out I've uploaded everything to your Gummiphones. They've got summaries of everything that's happened so far"

"That's our Jiminy" Donald said.

Goofy nodded, as Jiminy disappeared once more. "Yep, he's always prepared!"

"Well we've got our seven guardians!" King Mickey exclaimed.

Sora sighed "Yeah, but I do wish Terra was here too"

Riku rolled his eyes "Since when do you mope Sora? Come on, Terras gotta be with the organization. Which means we'll have a chance to save him."

Aqua nodded "Leave it to Ven and I, we'll bring him home"

Ventus nodded "Yeah, I made Terra a promise. I said I'd be there for him when he needs me"

"We're all in this together Sora" King Mickey added.

"And Donald and I are no Keyblade wilders, but we'll always be right here to help keep ya steady. We've got your back, not just now but always"

"Three half pints make a whole!" Donald exclaimed.

Sora rolled his eyes "That again" everyone chuckled.

Master Yen Sid took a breath, "It is a shame that not all of our friends could be here. But our seven guardians of light have united. Perhaps you might say that we have nine guardians, with Donald and Goofy. Given time, I know the others will soon stand with us."

Sora cleared his throat "Master Yen Sid, I have some questions"

Master Yen Sid nodded "I figured so, fire away"

"What has the organization been up to? Also how come Aqua didn't show up in the realm of darkness until I came along?"

"The organization has mostly been traveling world to world, attempting to spread darkness and gather as many hearts as possible. Luckly, Axel and Kairi have proved to be quite helpful, Cloud and Tifa have been helping out as well"

Sora's mouth hung open in surprise "Wait what?"

Kairi nodded "As the worlds grew more overrun, we had to call in for some help. Cloud, Tifa, along with Yuffie, Cid and the rest of the gang. Everyone stepped up to help out where they could"

Sora's eyes grew wide "Wow…..sorry I wasn't-"

"Sora, its fine. You're here that's what matters."

Master Yen Sid cleared his throat "As to your second question Sora, you have to remember, Ventus has been inside your heart this entire time. Its likely when you showed up to the realm of darkness, this is what drew Aqua out of the shadows"

Aqua looked down "But I couldn't control myself, my body was lost to the darkness. Sora, I'm so sorry"

"Its alright, I'm just happy we're all together now. So then if they were traveling from world to world, how come they never found me?"

"Brisk accelerates the time of the world its cast on, however another effect is that it places the world into a realm separate from other worlds. This realm is inaccessible until the spell is complete" Master Yen Sid explained.

"So we had no way of finding you, if we would have flown the gummy ship there, the world would have disappeared" Kairi added.

Sora nodded "I see, so then I have another question. Ven mentioned that I've had the power of waking all along, and before he woke up he told me that it appears when someone needs it?"

Master Yen Sid let out a heavy sigh, "The power of waking is very complex, how it is awakened, and the capabilities of it can vary depending on the power of one's heart."

Sora scratched his head "So then I do have it?"

Master Yen Sid gave a nod "It would appear so. Sora, you should be aware the power of waking is very powerful. It is controlled by the heart and the heart alone, the next time you use it may appear to be quite different."

Sora frowned "So it can be different each time?"

Master Yen Sid nodded "Or exactly the same, again it is determined by your heart and your heart alone understood?"

Sora nodded in agreement "Any other questions Sora?" Master Yen Sid inquired.

Sora shook his head. Master Yen Sid gave a nod "Well then, today you recuperate. On the morrow, you journey to the fated place."

"Tomorrow? Master Yen Sid, with everything that I've missed shouldn't we head out right away?" Sora inquired.

Aqua nodded "I agree, Terras still out there and-"

Master Yen Sid waved them off. "Patience. Both of you have been gone for quite some time. You need rest, we must all be at our best in order to face the organization, on the morrow we shall journey to face them" Aqua and Sora looked down in shame while everyone else nodded in agreement.

Later just outside the tower, Aqua and Ventus looked up at the night sky.

Ventus sighed "The stars here are so beautiful. I noticed it when we arrived. We've gone without this for so long"

Aqua nodded "I know"

He sat down on the steps "I…remember training a lot, with you and Terra. Sora and his friends too I think. And there were some more people I didn't recognize, oh and I saw these weird animal creatures! Its like, I've been part of some big adventure"

Aqua nodded, and sat down next to him "I've been places too. But pretty soon…things will be back to normal"

Ventus pulled out his green wayfinder and held it up to the sky, "Lets share stories when Terra gets back"

Aqua pulled out her blue wayfinder and held it up to the stars as well. "Yeah"

He turned to her and smiled "Aqua, thanks for waking me up"

She turned to him and smiled back "Don't mention it"

Meanwhile back on Destiny Islands, Sora RIku and Kairi were walking along the beach catching up.

"I can't believe you're a Keyblade master now" Sora said.

Riku smiled "She's come a long way from the time you found her here on the beach"

Kairi smiled at the warm familiar memory. "I'm just happy to have both of you back"

"I think that makes two of us, Kairi" Riku said to her.

Sora nodded "We're all a team"

Kairi sighed "Riku, can you give us a moment?"

He nodded, and split off from the two of them "Take all the time you need, I'll be in the clubhouse."

"Watsup?" Sora asked.

"Follow me"

She lead him up to the tree with a bend in it. It was late in the day, and the sun was getting ever closer to the horizon. She hopped up and patted the spot next to her, he nodded and hopped up as well. They sat in silence for a moment, reminiscing about everything that had changed.

"Sora….."

He turned to her "Yeah"

She smiled slightly "You didn't answer my question from earlier"

He smiled back nervously "Oh, that"

She giggled slightly "What do you see us as?" "I…Kairi…I kind of-" he stopped as she grabbed his hand once more, causing the familiar warmth to permeate throughout their bodies.

"Kind of what?"

He took a deep breath "I can't see my life without you in it. Once we get through this…I. I want us to be together"

Her eyes widened "As friends?"

He shook his head "No Kairi, you're so much more than that"

Her heart fluttered. "Sora….."

"Yeah?"

She bit her lip "Hold on" turning around, she reached up the tree and pulling a paopu fruit down. His eyes widened as she held it between them "Tomorrow's fight will be our toughest yet. I want to be a part of your life no matter what. Now and forever. I promise I'll always protect you." he smiled "Me too" she split the fruit down the middle and handed him a piece. The two of them stared deeply into one another's eyes, before finally taking a bite.

**There it is, SoKai sharing a paopu fruit as they should be! Next up everyone will be gearing up to enter the Keyblade graveyard so watch out for that. See ya next time! **


	5. Is It Really You?

**Just want to take a moment to thank everyone who's read the story thus far, even those who haven't favorited or commented. I truly appreciate you giving my story a shot. Without further adou, we enter the Keyblade Graveyard…..**

Sora, Donald, Goofy and the others made their way into across the barren sand, stopping just before the entrance. "Its time. The Keyblade Graveyard is up ahead" King Mickey said.

Kairi tied her hair into high a ponytail "Its time to end this"

Sora hesitated "Someones coming" They all stood patiently as Xehanort appeared off in the distance, slowly walking towards them with a mischievous smiled on his face. He stopped just about 100 feet in front of them. Silence filled the air with only the gentle breeze providing a soundtrack.

"Legend has it that darkness once covered the world. We know so little about the Keyblade war, only that it was just the beginning. If ruin brings about creation, what then would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of?" seconds later Xemnas appeared next to him. "Or will all of creation be instead returned to the shadows? Today we will recreate the legend and see. But first, your light shines far too brightly. It must be extinguished in order for the truth to be seen." Suddenly the sky went completely black, blocking out all the sunlight, they watched in awe as heartless and dusks began falling from the sky like raindrops. They all stared in silence as the former empty wasteland around them became more and more filled with evil. "Lets do this!" Sora exclaimed summoning his Keyblade. The others summoned their weapons as well, then as they split into different groups, the battle began.

The fight proved to be absolutely ferocious, it seemed as though for every enemy of darkness they took out, another three would take their place. Sora clobbered a few heartless out of the way, before leaping up into the air, shooting off several fireballs. "Sora!" he turned to see a flying heartless headed straight for him.

Before he could react, Kairi spun in front of him taking it out "Be careful!" she called before going to work on another group. Sora smiled briefly before getting thrown back into the mix. Ventus threw his keyblade into the wind, obliterating a score of heartless in seconds, just as Aqua cartwheeled by.

"You mind?! I'm kinda busy here!"

"So am I! Behind you!" just as his keyblade reached his hand again, he bent his knees and swung his body completely around obliterating three heartless behind him instantly.

On and on it went, King Mickey using every combo and spell he could think of, while Axel used a plethora of fire attacks taking out countless heartlesses and unversed. Sora even teamed up with Donald and Goofy several times, but the enemies were relentless. It seemed as though no matter how hard they fought, it was hopeless.

Aqua took out several unversed, making her way over to Sora, "Ideas?!"

He landed on the ground after taking out a frog unversed. "Uhh, not quite?"

"Sora!" he turned to see Kairi running up to him.

"There's a spell I know that might work, but I need another keyblade"

He nodded "Aqua, can you hold them off?"

Aqua sighed "We'll try, quick as you can you two!"

Before they could respond she scurried off to take on another plethora of heartless. "You've done this before?" he asked.

She sighed and summoned her keyblade once more "No. But its our best shot, quickly hold your keyblade upward" he nodded and did so. She took another breath, here goes nothing "Magnetica Lightaga!" she called touching her keyblade to his.

Suddenly there was a huge flash of white light from the ends of their Keyblades that fired up to the sky releasing a plethora of sparks, then as those sparks hit the ground, dozens of dark bright circles began forming around them.

"Kairi what's-"

"Just watch and sit still!" suddenly large orbs of light rose up from the circles, and instantly began rolling through the army of enemies at lightning speed taking them all out like bowling pins. Even at the rate they were spawning, the spell soon began to make quick work of them, and then the next thing they knew it was over.

Kairi pulled her keyblade away from Sora's "Nice job"

H smiled "Thanks Kairi"

Soon after, the others walked up to them. "What the heck was that?!" Axel inquired.

Kairi smiled "It's an old spell Master Yen Sid taught me, told me I would know when to use it. The spell requires two Keyblade wielders to cast, and the orbs of light only attack darkness so as soon as they formed….you get the idea"

Aqua's eyes widened "Wow. Impressive."

Riku sighed "Nice work, we gotta keep moving though" they nodded, and continued into the next area.

As they arrived, there was a cloud of dust just ahead of them. Ventus tilted his head curiously as a figure began to emerge, as the dust cleared his eyes grew wide. There clear as day, was the person he'd been waiting an eternity to see "Terra!" he called racing out to him.

Aqua reached out to stop him "Ven…"

He raced up to Terra and grabbed his arm. "Terra! You're here!" Terra looked up but said nothing.

Aqua jogged up behind him "Terra? Is it really you?" he blinked but still said nothing.

Aqua pushed Ventus back until they were a safe distance away. "What gives Aqua?"

She sighed "I know you aren't him"

Ventus' jaw dropped "Huh?"

"Now let our friend go!"

A split second later, he began to change form.

His hair turned a strange shade of grey, and his dark blue eyes went yellow. "Today is the day you all lose. Before you even face the thirteen, every last one of you will be torn heart from body" he explained summoning his Keyblade.

Sora frowned "We're not gonna lose to you" he smirked and then suddenly vanished before striking Sora with his Keyblade at full force, and the next thing he knew everything went black.

"Sora!" Kairi called but before she could rush over to him, Riku blocked her with his hand. "Somethings wrong" Terranort smirked before disappearing into a corridor of darkness. Kairi's heart ached as she saw Sora lay lifeless, is he really- suddenly a dark pool appeared on the ground. Then out of it, an army of thousands of heartless swarmed towards the sky, before aiming itself towards them. Everyone tried to fend them off, but it was fultile and soon just like Sora the world went dark for them too.

**Darkness prevailed…..for now. Let me know what you think in the comments. See ya'll in the next chapter! **


	6. I Kept My Promise

**READ THIS FIRST! A few important announcements, the entire segment of Young Xehanort and Eraqus playing chess, transparent Sora talking running around in The Final World before finally saving everyone is something I have been unable to write, despite multiple draft attempts. So I'll summarize what happened. There are two differences in my story versus in game. One he never gets a warning about overusing the power of waking from anyone. Two he never speaks with Namine. That's it, everything else is exactly the same. We pick up the story after Sora and Kairi hold hands and then move out of….well wherever they were. Enjoy! **

Sora awoke to find himself in the same spot holding Kairi's hand. "You ok?"

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze "Yeah, thanks Kairi. Was that the power of-" she put a finger to her lips cutting him off.

Aqua frowned "Are you two ok?"

Kairi let go of Sora's hand "Yep, we're fine ready Sora?"

He hesitated before giving a nod, "Lets do this"

The group then headed into the next area. Ventus tilted his head curiously as a figure began to emerge, as the dust cleared his eyes grew wide. There clear as day, was the person he'd been waiting an eternity to see "Terra!" he called racing out to him.

Aqua reached out to stop him "Ven…"

He raced up to Terra and grabbed his arm. "Terra! You're here!" he looked up but said nothing.

Aqua jogged up behind him "Terra? Is it really you?" he blinked but still said nothing.

Aqua pushed Ventus back until they were a safe distance away. "What gives Aqua?"

She sighed "I know that you aren't him"

Ventus' jaw dropped "Huh?"

"Now let our friend go!"

Suddenly he changed form. His hair turned a strange shade of grey, and his dark blue eyes went yellow. "Today is the day you all lose. Before you even face the thirteen, every last one of you will be torn heart from body" he explained summoning his Keyblade. Sora frowned "We're not gonna lose to you" he smirked and then suddenly vanished before striking Sora with his Keyblade at full force, causing a cloud of smoke to emerge. When the smoke cleared, to Sora's surprise there blocking Terranort, was Kairi.

His eyes widened in surprise "Kai-Kairi?"

"Not this time" she swung her Keyblade with lightning force, forcing him several feet backwards.

"This is impossible!" he said, in another flash she was on him swinging into him with such force it knocked him high into the sky.

"Donald!"

He nodded summoning his staff and beginning his spell. The ground below him turned a deep red,, and a red circle surrounded him "Zettaflare!" suddenly a large beam of energy fired out at lightning speed, hitting Terra with full force, launching his body far away in the process. Donald took a few breaths, and then promptly passed out. Mickey and Goofy rushed over to him, just as he slowly began to open his eyes.

"Donald! Are you ok!"

"I'll be fine" he said standing back up slowly.

"Terra!" Ventus called in worry.

Aqua shook her head "No Ven"

"But-" he stopped, watching where she was looking.

"Them first" up in the sky, yet another army of heartless began flying towards them. A split second later, an entire army of heartless began crawling towards them.

"We'll hold them off!" Aqua said as her and the others scurried away to deal with the ones on the ground.

Sora turned to Kairi once more "Are you-"

"I'm fine! Lets do this!" he hesitated but then gave a nod, and they turned to face the demon tide.

**KH**

They dove right in, with Sora focusing on fighting it from the front, while Kairi focused on the back, and Donald and Goofy alternating attacks on each side. The tide proved to be much more difficult then the one in Twilight Town several years ago. It was much faster, more dynamic in terms of its shape shifting, and its attacks did significantly more damage. Even with the four of them attacking from different angles, it was proving to be quite a formidable enemy.

Kairi launched her spin attack once more, before doing a handstand over to Sora. "This isn't working!"

He nodded swinging a few enemies away "I know! Watch out!" she leapt out of the way, just as Goofy charged through its core with his shield. "We need a plan!"

Sora sighed "Just keep going!"

Again and again, they attacked with their keyblades, magic, and everything else they could think of, until suddenly the tower collapsed completely yet the core of it still remained.

"Told you!" Kairi said.

Sora sighed "Come on!", then just like that the tower began to reform. It quickly sucked up all the remaining heartless, creating a new tornado filled with nothing but darkness.

The others rejoined them, watching in awe of what the enemy had become. Goofy took a few steps back "What now?"

Kairi sighed "Sora? Ideas?"

He took a breath, and gave an answer no one saw coming. "I'll stop it!" before anyone could stop him he went running towards it "Sora!" Donald and Goofy called, but the Keyblade master would not allow his friends to be put in harm's way again. He ran up to the tornado, swiping away a section of heartless as they shot out from the tornado. Running up to it, he leapt up into the air as high as he could, swinging his keyblade towards the center.

Suddenly, a white light appeared causing him to shield his face completely. When his vision restored, there stood a boy with curly silver hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white shirt under a black vest, with grey accents. He also wore dark grey paints, black boots and a red scarf around his neck. Facing away from Sora, he slowly turned around "Need some help?"

"Huh?" Sora said in confusion, and then in the blink of an eye he was back on the ground again.

He looked up at the sky, gasping in shock with the others at what he saw. Suddenly, hundreds of keyblades began shooting across the sky like stars. They quickly surrounded the tornado in an endless river of what appeared to be gold. The river dipped down, rushing right next to Sora who promptly hopped on top.

Completely unaware of where it was headed, he rode it around the canyon before stopping just in front of the tornado itself. "What's this?" he asked, as several keyblades began floating around him. Suddenly a star shape appeared in front of him, and he felt a surge of energy in his heart. "Alright, lets go!", then just like that he began firing off dozens and dozens of keyblades into the tornado…..every second. They scattered outward, piecing through the darkness like a knife through hot butter. His friends on the ground watched in awe of the unbelievable sight.

Kairi smiled "That's my Sora"

Then suddenly, Sora moved into the core of the tornado, and began firing off yet more keyblades while dodging the tornados counter attacks. Then at last most of the tornado was gone, leaving just the core of it, "Time to end this!" he said, holding his Keyblade out in front of him as the river beneath him launched towards it at hurricane speed. Seconds later, he shot through the core at full force finishing the fight once and for all.

**KH**

The river of keyblades dropped Sora near his friends before firing up into the air again, leaving a funnel of Keyblades floating in the air before vanishing seconds later. "Sora!" Riku called as the whole group ran up to him.

"Are you ok?" Kairi asked.

He nodded 'Yeah, I'm fine"

"What was that?" King Mickey asked.

"Keyblade weilders, from long ago" Aqua replied. Kairi looked up at the sky, in awe of what had just transpired. Then her ability to sense darkness drew her attention elsewhere "Look" they all turned to the cloud of dust in front of them, then as it cleared a lone figure walked towards them. Xigbar smiled "Nice to see you're still here, the old guy wants proof that you bought the goods this time"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sora inquired.

Xigbar smirked and snapped his fingers, suddenly a swirl of darkness appeared behind him extending high into the sky. Their eyes widened as it grew to enormous heights, taking on the shape of Master Xehanort. "Well, good luck" he said before disappearing into a corridor of darkness. Then suddenly the statue of darkness changed form, releasing dozens and dozens of heartless at once.

"Not again" Sora whined summoning his Keyblade, the others summoned theirs as well. Suddenly a tower dove towards Sora, but he made quick work of it with his kingdom key.

More and more heartless continued surrounding them. "Form up! Now!" Aqua called out.

They all huddled in closer together, but the heartless would not be denied and moved in yet closer. They all stood around, continuing to knock away those that got too close, it was soon becoming a futile effort.

"I'll try and break through, everyone get ready!" Aqua said.

Ventus knocked a few away that got too close "Are you you crazy? Alone, I'll help you"

Kairi knocked away two heartless trying to sneak up on her "Two is no better"

Axel swung at a few as well "Splitting ups a bad idea" they all went silent as suddenly another toward of darkness loomed over them.

"We're finished!" Donald said as it closed in on them. Then suddenly up in the sky, a green orb came racing down obliterating countless heartless in its wake.

As the light dimmed, a lone figure came into view. "Master Yen Sid!" they all said simultaneously. He reached out his hands slowly before releasing yet another massive wave of magic, creating a clear path through the heartless. "Go my young champions, I will hold them all here as long as I can"

King Mickey shook his head "We're not leaving you behind."

Donald and Goofy looked at each other, and gave an understanding nod. "You guys go on!" Donald said.

Goofy nodded "Me and Donald will stay here and back up Master Yen Sid.

"Donald. Goofy." Sora breathed.

"You're a whole pint by yourself, Sora" Donald replied.

Sora smiled "Okay!" the corridor began closing as the heartless moved in. Master Yen Sid cleared it out once more "Make haste!" they nodded and hurried down the path.

Soon they reached yet another wasteland, this one littered with endless Keyblades stuck in the ground. They stopped as they reached a clearing. There right in front of them, was Master Xehanort and his hooded followers walking towards them. They stopped just a few feet away. "Today, we join these other wielders and leave our mark on fate. I have waited patiently, but together we shall unlock the Keyblade wars secrets" with that he summoned his Keyblade. "Now we forge it, the x-blade" the tip of his Keyblade glowed just as he sank it into the ground. Suddenly, stone walls began stretching all around them, trapping them with no way out. One wall rose Xehanort and his followers above them all. They all looked around in confusion, then Sora took a breath "Here we go" they all ran ahead, with him following close behind.

As they entered the maze, they came to a clearing and there in the middle was Terranort, laying face flat on the ground. Suddenly Ansem-Xehanort appeared, "Your friends heart was more full of light then we thought. We still control him, but it is becoming a problem"

"What did you do to him?!" Aqua inquired.

He smirked "This is your last chance to say goodbye. Then we will settle this fight once and for all" before any of them could respond, he disappeared in a corridor of darkness.

"Terra!" Aqua and Ventus called rushing over to see if he was alive.

The two of them sat him up "Terra please…" Aqua pleaded.

"Come back, Terra!" Ventus added.

Suddenly he held both hands to his head in pain.

"Terra! Your friends are here!" Sora called.

He took a breath before screaming out in pain. Suddenly blue chains wrapped around everyone, hauling them high up into the air. The group struggled to break free "You have to fight the darkness!" Sora called.

"You'll never be able to break these chains. Farewell." he breathed lifting Aqua and Ventus even higher in the air. Tears dripped from Ventus' face "Terra…..I kept my promise!" then just like that, Terranort dropped them.

However before they could hit the ground, Xehanort's guardian appeared catching them both. He swiftly grabbed the chains from him, breaking them with one hand and freeing Sora, who gracefully landed on the ground. The guardian very cautiously set Aqua and Ventus on the ground. "How? You fell to the-" he started before the guardian snuck up behind him, grabbing him by the face. It then ripped the bandages from its own mouth, "One day…I …will…..set….this…..right" it repeated the same message once more. Sora's eyes widened, could it be?

"I will return to this land…and protect..my friends!" suddenly the guardian's heart began to glow, and Sora knew exactly what to do. He summoned his Keyblade and aimed it at the guardian "Terra now!" a beam of light fired out, hitting Terranort square in the back. The guardian's heart began to glow, and then a single white orb removed itself and shot towards the body it was holding. A split second later, the guardian disappeared and when the light cleared, there was the real Terra himself.

He looked at his hands in shock that he was finally free, before turning to see Aqua and Ventus laying on the ground nearby. "Aqua! Ven!" He called, quickly running over to check on Ventus' lifeless body.

Her face softened "Terra….is that really you?" she moved in closer. He looked up into her sapphire colored eyes "Yeah. You never stopped lighting my way back" butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her vision blurred as she fought back tears. Then Ventus awoke "You're here"

"I heard you too Ven. You found me, just like you promised" he pulled both of them into a hug "Thank you"

Axel coughed "I uh, hate to break up the party but, we should keep moving"

"Axel….." Kairi breathed.

Aqua gave a nod as they broke their embrace "Its fine, we should get going. Terra, Ven, lets pick this up later?" they both nodded and stood up.

"Terra, Aqua you sure you're alright?" King Mickey inquired.

Terra nodded "I'm not leaving my friends behind"

Aqua smiled "We're all in this together"

"All for one-" Goofy started.

"Ohhhh don't start with that….." Donald squawked. They all chuckled slightly before looking ahead further into the maze.

"Here we go" Riki breathed. Then with one last breath, they all charged forward.

**Now everyone is back together again! Just want to make sure everyone caught that, Sora did use the power of waking to bring everyone back. As Master Yen Sid said in an earlier chapter, the abilities of the power of waking can vary depending on what the person's heart wants. So when Sora got hit by Terranort and his light/heart started to go out, Kairi sensed that and kept it alive long enough for Sora to put himself back together, and use the power of waking to restore everyone the way they were. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, things start to get interesting from here **** See ya in the next one! **


	7. Stop Calling Him That

**Alrighty ladies and gentlemen I have a couple announcements. One my idea for this is if it were in game is to give the player the option to decide what character they want to control in each fight (with the exception of the fights that are one v one). Then before beginning a menu would then appear allowing you to review that character's abilities, items etc. You cannot switch characters once the battle has started. Two, the flashback chapters I mentioned earlier will be coming soon, more info on that later.**

**Also want to thank Imagine 97 for the favorite! Also I want to give a shoutout to Ashg1989, thank you again for the follows/favorites. **

**May your heart be your guiding key **

Sora stopped for a moment to take a rest and gather some supplies from the moogle shop. Finally rested and stocked he moved forward. Once they'd gone in the maze, walls had started popping up everywhere creating corridors and splitting them up. Sora had lost touch with the others, but there was no way he was going to let that deter him. With everything he needed, he moved forward to the next area.

Aqua stood, sizing up Larxene curiously who was laughing hysterically, "You act like you're seeing a ghost, what's the matter?"

Aqua squinted "You took away my friend, that's what."

"Oh pleaaaaaase, cry me a river seems like your loverboys just fine"

"He's not my loverboy….take that back now!"

"Or what? You afraid I'm gonna steal him from you again?"

Meanwhile Terra and Luxord were having a discussion of their own. "Do you want to play a game?"

"I've had enough games, this ends now"

Luxord smirked "So you think"

"Terra! Aqua!" they turned to see Sora rushing inside.

"Sora! Get out of here, this two are ours" Aqua said

"You sure?"

Terra nodded "Go help the others, we've got this"

He hesitated before giving a nod and rushing towards the next area. Aqua turned her attention to Larxene who faked a yawn "All this talking is cramping my style"

Luxordd smirked "Well then a game sounds like-"

"A game? What are you a kid? Play your games with her loverboy here, I want a real fight"

"Fine then, have it your way" right then and there, Aqua snapped and the battle began.

"Stop calling him that!" she said charging towards Larxene who promptly shook her head, and teleported out of the way, reappearing 3 stories up. "Come and get me"

Aqua immediately flew up to where she was.

Larxene summoned all of her knives "Let the boys have their fun down there, now then where were we? Oh right, I was talking about your-"

Aqua cut her off, charging into her head on once more. Larxene smirked, leaping above her head "Too slow" front flipping her whole body she threw one of her knives into Aqua's shoulder, causing her to scream out in pain as electricity coursed through her body.

She teleported out of the way but before she could heal "What's the matter?" Aqua moved to turn around, but not before Larxene sent her flying with a spinning low kick. Aqua screamed in pain again as her body was thrown towards the ground, she took a breath and teleported clear to the other side of the battle field. Quickly healing she fired several beams of fire before cartwheeling out of the way as Larxene threw several more knives at her. Then in a flash Larxene was on her again, Aqua smirked and with her body still upside down she struck Larxene. Hard.

Larxene hissed in pain before teleporting away again, firing off several bolts of electricity. Aqua used reflect again and again, before disappearing completely. When she reappeared, her body began to twirl, firing out orb after orb of white light. Larxene leapt out of the way and headed to face Aqua head on, dodging some but not all of the orbs. Just as she was about to make impact, Aqua disappeared again. When she reappeared, there was not just one of her but many. Larxene smirked and using magic, summoned lightning from the clouds firing off several bolts again and again obliterating the copies. Using reflect Aqua was able to avoid them all, then she spun around to see no one there.

Then to her shock and awe, a dozen Larxenes surrounded her and began throwing their electrified knives towards her. There's no way I can dodge them all, and if I refect….suddenly an idea came to her. "Absorbaga!" a deep blue oval surrouned her whole body, and as the knives impacted it they simply disappeared. Larxene frowned in confusion consolidating herself into one person once more, what's-.

Before she could finish that thought, Aqua's whole body began to glow blue. "I told you not to call him that." Holding her Keyblade above her head, she fired off a yellow beam which upon hitting the cloud began showering the battlefield with Larxene's electrified knives. Larxene attemted to dodge and reflect, allowing Aqua to move in for the final hit. Spinning her body around she swung her Keyblade into Larxene's body as hard as she could, causing her to crash down to the ground.

Aqua floated downward, her ears picking up the fight between Terra and Luxord. "Are….are you kidding?" Larxene stammered.

Aqua smiled "You'll be recompleted now"

"I didn't ask for your opinion blue hair! I lost! To a loser like you! But…could be worse. Become that geezer's heart tank? No thanks." Soon her body began disintegrating into pieces of darkness

. Aqua frowned, "Then why help him?"

She smirked "I was really just along for the ride."

"With who?"

She sighed and put a finger to her lips "My secret" before Aqua could say anymore, Larxene's body disappeared.

Terra and Luxord stood in a silent standoff, eyeing one another curiously before Luxord smirked "A shame…..I liked you much better before" he said pulling out several cards in his hand before throwing them in the air. Using his powerful magic, he soon summoned enough cards to surround Terra completely. "Terra, one final game. The rules are simple, all you have to do is find me among these cards and strike me down" suddenly he snapped his fingers and a flash of light blinded Terra's vision. When his eyes adjusted, Luxord had vanished. "Right here" suddenly the cards spun around rapidly before suddenly coming to a hault. Terra instantly jumped into action, pummeling various cards with spell after spell, but it was to no avail.

Then Luxord fired several cards at him, causing him to yell out in pain before dodging out of the way. Pull it together Terra! He launched his body forward, swinging his Keyblade into another one. Again, empty. "Over here!" yet more cards surrounded him once again. Terra tried again, this time getting the right one, causing Luxord to reappear in human form. Terra went all out, utilizing Meteor Crash to deal a stunning amount of damage to Luxord, who was barely able to change back to card form before Terra could get another hit in. "Live Dangerously Terra, there's no time for-" he stopped as Terra began wailing on him once more.

He'd finally figured out the trick, the front of the cards was the same the back of the cards were all white, except for one which had an image of Luxord on the back. Despite this, the battle continued to rage on. Terra would get a few hits in, Luxord would disappear shuffling the cards and it would start all over again. Terra used every magic spell imaginable, including dark firaga, thundaga, and even quake.

"You…..cannot defeat-

" "Watch me! MEGA FLARE!"

Suddenly an explosive white fireball shot out from Terra's Keyblade, hitting Luxord square in the chest.

Luxord lay on the ground, panting for breath, "You were born for these sorts of games"

Terra sighed "Not your kind of games"

"Silly boy...do me a favor?"

"Why should I do you any favors?" Luxord chuckled and looked up to him once more "Take good care of her" then a split second later his body vanished into darkness.

"Terra" he turned around to see Aqua standing there, causing butterflies to flutter in his stomach.

"Aqua, are you hurt?"

"No I'm fine, we should help the others" he nodded, and followed her into the next area.

Sora hustled through the corridors, solving a few puzzles along the way before finally reaching the next area. King Mickey summoned his Keyblade in readiness. Across the battlefield Marluxia smirked "Give it up, this can only end one way" he shook his head "Forget about it, there's no way you're getting off that easy. There's only one way this ends, by light triumphing over darkness"

"Your majesty" he turned to see Sora running up to him. "Let me help you"

King Mickey shook his head "I've got this covered, you go on ahead"

"But your majesty-"

"Sora! That's an order! Now go!" he exclaimed.

Sora took a breath "Right!" they watched as he continued to the next area before turning their attention back towards the enemy.

Marluxia struck first, throwing his scythe at the king who front flips out of the way avoiding it. The scythe then returned to Marluxia just as Mickey moved in to strike him. However Marluxia held out his hand, calling his scythe back in the nick of time to block the king's efforts. Marluxia leapt upward off the ground, before slamming back down at full force. The impact created a shockwave which knocked the king back several feet, causing painful injuries. He then leapt forward aiming to finish the king off in one hit, but Mickey wouldn't have it. Just before impact, Mickey jumped up in the air out of the way before leaping back down to hit Marluxia from above.

On and on the fight went, back and forth they swung and fired at each other, the king managed to get quite a few hits in, taking out several bars of Marluxia's health. Even though he tried to play it off, the king's constant jumping around was starting to make him feel fatigued and he soon found himself gasping for air, "You're a bit more powerful then I thought"

King Mickey frowned "Alright, time to end this"

"What with more backflips? That's no gonna-." suddenly Mickey leapt up higher than he had during the whole battle.

"Stopza!" Marluxia attempted to leap out of the way, but it was too late. The spell frozen his body in place instantly "Better make this quick" he leapt towards Marluxia at lightning speed. As he grew near, the spell wore off and Marluxia turned to block him, but it was too late. The king smashed into him at full force, causing a shockwave of energy so strong, it broke Marluxia's scythe in half while dealing the final blow.

Mickey landed on his feet just in front of Marluxia's rapidly disappearing body, just as the two halves of his weapon disappeared. "Oh…so now it all comes back to me" he laughed slightly.

Mickey smiled "Gosh, are you really laughing"

"Yes….My heart is remembering how to feel."

"Gosh, I'm sorry it took all this"

"Its alright, now I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity….my purpose for being. Thanks to you, Mickey" before the king could respond, Marluxia's body became surrounded by darkness and he disappeared.

"Your majesty!" Mickey turned to see Donald and Goofy running up to him. "You alright?" Goofy asked.

"I'm fine, are you guys ok?"

Donald nodded "We got lost, this place is a maze"

"Gosh Donald, I told you we shoulda went right not left"

"Oh what do you know?!" Mickey smiled "I'm just glad you're alright, now come on we've gotta go and meet up with the others" they all nodded, and moved into the next area.

**Just want to clarify in case anyone missed it, Luxord was referring to Aqua when he said that last line****. Let me know what ya'll think of the fights so far. See ya in the next chapter! **


	8. Stay Away From My Friends

**Here is my replies to the comment. Enjoy! **

**Gracekim20: Interesting guess, and happy to hera you are enjoying it!**

**Also I want to thank TrimusicaDrag00n90 for the favorite. **

Riku lept out of the way as Xigbar fired off yet more shots at him, which he narrowly was able to miss. Unlike their counterparts, him and Xigbar hadn't had the luxury of small talk. "Riku!" he turned to see Sora rushing inside, his eyes widened in panic as Xigbar fired off several shots from behind. Riku jumped on Sora, shoving him out of the way

"What are you doing here?"

"I figured you could use some help"

Riku smiled "I appreciate that, but I think Kairi is in the next area by herself"

"What?!"

"Yeah, so get outta here. I got this"

"You sure?"

"Sora. Go!"

He looked deeply into his best friends eyes before nodding "See you on the other side"

Riku nodded back "Looking forward to it"

Sora jumped up and ran towards the next area. "How sweet, two guardians of light showing their-" Riku cut him off, slashing away at him with one hand.

"Clever little sneak!" he said blocking all the attacks before disappearing a split second later. He reappeared on the other side of the battlefield, and began firing shots towards Riku. He immediately leaped out of the way, but not before Xigbar was able to warp the shot. He screamed in pain, as the beam burned into his side like hot coals. He quickly healed himself, and then leapt towards Xigbar once more. He managed to get a few more hits in before Xigbar once again disappeared.

On the fight went, one of them would get a few hits in, and then the other and then repeat. Again and again, attack after attack the fight went on. It wasn't long before Riku learned Xigbar's methods, and was even able to move just a little bit faster even with Xigbar's ability to hang in midair, it proved to be no match for Riku's strength and agility. Time to end this, with a deep breath he charged at the enemy once more. He smirked before teleporting out of the way,

"Too slow for-" his breath caught in his throat as he noticed Riku had disappeared completely.

"Seems like your too slow, Dark Firaga!" he moved to turn around, but it was too late. The orb of dark energy slammed into his back, draining out the last of his health. Moments later, he levitated back to the ground.

Riku joined him "I knew you'd try that trick again, so once you vanished I summoned a corridor of darkness and then summoned another corridor just behind you, I guess I am clever after all"

Xigbar collapsed to his knees, as his body faded into darkness, "Figures. If I had a Keyblade it'd be different…."

Riku frowned "Only those that are worthy can wield the Keyblade"

"Oh, I am worthy"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

He sank his weapon into the ground and used it as a crutch to stand. "The old coot promised to bequeath me his. Why else do you think I would put up with all his nonsense?"

"It'd be wasted on you"

He smirked "As if. " suddenly a corridor of darkness surrounded him and he disappeared. HIs head snapped upward as Xigbar reappeared at the top of the labyrinth wall. "With another slight smirk, he began stepping backwards until finally, he fell out of sight. His weapons which he'd left behind, soon disintegrated into darkness before fading away.

Axel stared into his old colleague's eyes that were filled with blue smoke "Isa, we don't have to-" he leapt out of the way as Saix charged towards him at full speed. Fine have it your way, summoning his chakrams, he began his attack. He threw one of them as hard as he could, it spun faster and faster twirling the air around it, "Firaga!" suddenly a tornado of fire appeared and headed straight towards Saix, who smirked throwing his Lunatic into it.

Axel gasped as his tornado faded away into nothing, just as his Chakram returned Saix struck back. Leaping up high into the air, he slammed his Claymore into the ground, releasing a shockwave that proved to be nearly fatal. Quickly healing himself, Axel transformed his chakrums into a keyblade, and struck back, summoning a column of fire onto his former friend. This time it was a hit, and Saix is knocked several feet back taking a large amount of damage before recovering and jumping back into the fight. Before he could recover, Axel was on him, swinging his keyblade at him again and again. On and on they fought, trying combo after combo and spell after spell.

The speed and intensity of the attacks steadily increased to break neck speed. I've almost got him Axel thought, time to end this even if he was my friend then he's not the same person, I have to protect what's important to me now. With a deep breath, he transformed his keyblade back into his Chakrams, throwing both of them towards him at the same time.

Saix chuckled and easily dodged them "That all you-"

"Panoramaga!" suddenly the Chakrams slammed into one another before dividing up into a thousand tiny balls of fire, which then promptly surrounded Saix leaving him nowhere to escape. "I told you we didn't have to do this, firaga!" all at once, the thousand flames struck Saix at once, causing him to scream in pain. Even with what he'd just told himself, it pained Axel to hear It. By the time his Chakrams had returned to him, the fight was over.

Saix collapsed onto the ground as his weapon disappeared and the last bit of life began draining out of him. Axel rushed up, struggling to hold back tears. "Why…..so sad?" Saix breathed.

Axel turned away unable to watch. "You let them reduce you to this?!"

"I thought, you outgrew the marks under your eyes"

"So?"

"You look, like you need them"

"Stop it. The whole act. Why did you do this?"

"You're the one who went off and made other friends. Left me in the dust, it infuriated me how you just exited my life. I lost…all sense of purpose"

Axel moved in closer "I didn't forget you, I never would"

"Yes I know that now, you wouldn't do that. But…..I was jealous"

"You admit it?"

"Well if I make it back…..you won't get it out of me a second time" suddenly he collapsed onto the ground.

Axel leaned over him "See you, Isa"

"See you, Lea" then darkness encompassed his body and he disappeared.

**KH**

Sora ran into the next area, to find Ventus and Vanitas standing on opposite sides of the battlefield. "Ven!" Ventus turned and shook his head "Get out of here Sora, this fights mine"

"But-"

"Sora. I got this, go help the others. Trust me." He sighed before giving a nod and running off.

Ventus stood silently, eyeing Vanitas who stood at the other end of the battlefield. For moments neither of them spoke, starring deeply into one another's eyes.

Then Vanitas spoke, "This is inevitable, we will be together once again just as before"

Ventus shook his head "Never, not after everything you've done"

"Well perhaps…I can change your mind" with that he summoned his Keyblade, and the battle began. Vanitas struck first, levitating several feet off the ground before hurling several fireballs towards Ventus.

He quickly rolled out of the way, and leapt up in the air to fight him head on. Vanitas shrugged and teleported away, reappearing on the ground seconds later. Gotcha he thought, he quickly ran forward and attacked using the multivortex technique. Targeting Vanitus, within second he began pummeling him with his Keyblade at lightning fast speed, so fast that Vanitas couldn't even think about doing anything except blocking. Until finally there was an opening between swings, and Vanitas quickly vanished.

Seconds later he reappeared, summoning a wall of ice straight towards Ventus, who quickly dodged it. However seconds later, using his teleportation powers the wall of ice reappeared and smacked Ventus from underneath. For a few seconds he actually was unconscious, before waking back up and resuming battle. Taking his Keyblade he threw it towards Vanitas as hard as he could. Vanitas smirked and teleported out of the way, showing back up exactly where Ventus had hoped. "Nice try-" his voice was cut off as the Keyblade struck him with ferocious force before returning back to its owner. Wind raid, too bad I can only use it- his thoughts were cut off as Vanitas began attacking him with a fury once more.

The fight went on, the two of them battling for dominance over the other, but this time something was different. Ventus realized, all that time he'd been asleep he was powerless to stop anything bad from happening, butnot anymore. Eventually Ventus learned most of Vanitas' attacks, and began to counter, slashing away at his health little by little. Then Vanitas teleported away only to reappear several feet below, he took his Keyblade and pointed it upward, suddenly three large crystals formed around it.

"I don't think so. Tornaga!" Ventus said pointing his Keyblade towards him. Vanitas smirked, what the heck is torn- suddenly an invisible column of air formed in front of him, and hit him head on. Vanitas had no time to teleport as the suction ripped the Keyblade out of his hand and carried his body high above the battlefield. Then Vanitas teleported once more, but Ventus saw it coming. As soon as he reppeared behind him, Ven flipped the spinning air over his head "Reversaga!" suddenly the airflow in the tornado reversed direction, pushing out instead of sucking in, slamming Vanitas into the ground.

Vanitas attempted to get up before collapsing seconds later, as his helmet broke into several pieces, his body whithering away into darkness. Ventus walked up to him, "How did you come back? I took you down after what you almost did to Aqua when you tried-"

Vanitas laughed "That, must have been my replica. I've done nothing to that stupid girl."

"Don't call her that!"

Vanitas smirked before suddenly turning serious. How…..could you do this…..to-"

"A friend? No friend of mine would go after people I care about like you did"

"I just…..wanted us to be together"

Ventus sighed "Vanitas. I know, and I forgive you for everything you've done, but it doesn't excuse your actions. Then what you've done with Sora…some of the most important people in my life, almost taken away…I….why can't you just stand by my side? Instead of with darkness?"

Vanitas smiled "Because I am darkness, and I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast. How much closer can I be?"

"I didn't ask for this, to be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just light. Not just darkness. We decide what we are"

"Ventus. I did decide what I am, can't you see?"

"Then what you are is darkness?"

Vanitas sighed "What I am is darkness"

"You understand that means we can never be friends"

"Wh-what?"

Ventus nodded "You've made your choice"

"Ventus-" "No, its too late. I hope you find happiness where ever you're going, and that someday your heart becomes filled with light. Goodbye Vanitas" for the first time in his life, a single tear fell from Vanitas' eye as he vanished once and for all. They would never see each other again.

Kairi aimed her Keyblade at Xemnas once more, before sending off yet another fireball. You can't dodge it this there's no- before she could blink, Ansem Xehanort was on her swinging his Keyblade with full force. She leapt out of the way just in the nick of time, landing gracefully on the ground. She gasped for air, body dripping with sweat I have to do this, I have to prove to Sora that I can protect myself. Suddenly she sensed a corridor of darkness open up behind her, she instantly lept out of the way just as a dark hooded figure went charging by. Landing back on the ground, she sensed yet another source of darkness behind her.

"Kairi!" Sora called tackling her out of the way before Dark Riku before he could land a hit.

Xemnas laughed "You're outnumbered, overpowered by the darkness that surrounds you" suddenly a beeping noise came from Kairi's pocket. She smiled and silenced it "Not quite" Xemnas hesitated and then looked up into the sky to see a large beam of light fire down onto the ground, creating a cloud of smoke.

"Stay away from my friends" a voice said before stepping out of the smoke. He wore long black pants with a red lining and a black shirt with white lining. His short spiky blonde hair and deep blue eyes were unmistakable "Roxas?!" Sora exclaimed.

"He is not alone" a new voice said before emerging from the smoke. She wore a white dress, that poofed out at the bottom with a bow in the middle, the sleeveless top was open at the top to allow her body to cool during battle and even featured a few pockets, topped off with two thick white straps. The skirt was peppered with pencils and symbols of Castle Oblivion, the place she'd been held captive in so long ago. Her long blonde hair was also tied up in a ponytail just like Kairi's. She held a Keyblade that was pearl white with a pencil keychain and a bright yellow handle. Sora's eyes grew wide in complete shock "N-Namine?"

**Sorry guys, I know this must bring sadness for many of you, but Vanitas' journey ends here. I just could not picture him and Ventus getting along when he went after Sora in the Monsters Inc world, and everything else he did in the other games. He had a choice, and he chose darkness. I do think had he made some different decisions earlier in the series, it may have turned out different but this is where we are. I am sorry if I deeply offended anyone, that was not my intention. So what happened to him? Well, my head canon is he becomes reborn anew in a new world somewhere. He meets a nice pretty young girl who helps him assimilate to new life, and eventually they live happily ever after. He still remembers everything that happened to him, and its not something he ever got over, its just something he learned to live with. **

** Now onward, what did you all think of Namine? How did you like her Keyblade/outfit? Let me know in the comments ****. Next up I'm going to be doing the flashback chapters, there will be 3 of them and they will all be released on the same day, which is two days after this goes live. After that we'll pick up the story back in the Keyblade graveyard, which will be two days after the flashback chapters are uploaded. Again these are estimates, but I will do my best. See ya'll there! **


	9. Year 1

**Alrighty ya'll, we've gone back in time :O. Don't worry I'm gonna keep it as simple and concise as I can! For this part I imagine all of these being cutscenes if it were in game, with only the parts between being playable with a save point, and a prompt to trigger the next cutscene. Here is my reply to the comment, enjoy! **

**theCesar09: Very observant ;) I wonder where she is…..**

Kairi gasped for breath as several more unversed appeared, "What's the matter?!" a voice said behind her. She spun around reflecting Larxene's electric knives out of the way, "Kairi!" Axel said shooting off a fireball to prevent a dusk from attacking her. The fight intensified with more heartless and even Marluxia joining the fight.

They'd been at it for more than twenty minutes, but Master Yen Sid was relentless always demanding their best, while also pushing them to make their best better. Eventually Larxene and Marluxia took Axel out, and it was just Kairi left. She fended off most of the unversed and focused her attention on the two of them. Larxene smirked "Might as well give it up, you've got no-" Kairi cut her off launching a spin attack directly into Larxene's chest before leaping out of the way and shooting off several large fireballs at Marluxia. Just like that, it was over and the simulated area around them vanished.

Master Yen Sid clapped in satisfaction "Well done Kairi, Lea. You've come a long way"

Kairi gasped for air "Th-thanks, you hear anything from Sora?"

He closed his eyes but said nothing.

Axel sighed "Hes gotta be out there somewhere….."

Kairi nodded "He is, I know it"

Master Yen Sid opened his eyes "I agree, and I believe he will be back as soon as practical. For now, rest. Your final exam is tomorrow" they nodded and went their separate ways.

They stepped out of the world where time didn't pass into Twilight Town. Once Sora and the gang had disappeared, worlds everywhere had begun to become overrun with heartless, forcing the others to step up and help. After some lengthy discussions, it was decided Merlin would head back to Radiant Garden and assist the others in keeping the town safe. Since then Master Yen Sid had taken over their training. Kairi sighed, where is he? I never got to tell him how I feel, what if I never- "Kairi" she looked up to Axel "Stop that. Hes coming-"

"I know, I know."

"I'm sure he misses you"

Kairi bit her lip "Not as much as I miss him….."

Axel quickly changed the subject "Tomorrows the day, you ready?"

She smiled "Question is are you?"

He chuckled "Yeah yeah, they got a few lucky hits in"

Kairi giggled. "Few huh? If you say so"

"Yeah it was, hey! Take that back!" before she could respond Pence came around the corner.

"Oh there you guys are! We're all waiting for you at the usual spot"

Kairi sighed "You guys go on ahead"

Pence frowned in confusion "You ok?"

Axel coughed a few times. Pence's face softened "Oh, sorry"

She shook her head "Its ok, go on. I'll be fine"

"You sure?" Axel inquired.

Kairi nodded "Please, I'll see you tomorrow get some rest?"

Axel grinned "Oh you can bet on it, they're not getting lucky again" she smiled as the two of them walked away.

Kairi turned around and walked through the quiet streets. Where is he? Why would he just leave like that? She soon found tears forming in her eyes, and her heart suddenly felt very empty.

"Sora….why did you-" she stopped suddenly as she realized where she was. Her deep blue eyes stared upward at the haunted mansion. Namine, if only you were here, I bet you could find-.

"She probably wouldn't be able to"

Kairi turned to see Riku standing nearby. "I thought you and the king-"

"Still no sign of her"

Kairi sighed "I just…want him back"

Riku nodded "I do too"

Kairi struggled to fight back tears "Its my fault"

Riku shook his head "No! Kairi…"

Tears fell effortless from her eyes, as her heart began to break into a thousand pieces "I should've been there, maybe I could've…"

"Kairi, listen to me. This isn't your fault, Soras come back from worse before."

Kairi wiped a few tears away "I know. Hes out there, I can feel it but-"

"You wish he was here, I know. I'm sure he does too. Imagine how happy he'll be once you're a Keyblade master"

She smiled slightly "If I pass"

Riku smirked "If huh? Remind me again how this test works"

"Before actual fighting even began we had to study. Master Yen Sid gave us a ton of information on how hearts connect, different enemies we may face, nobodies and more. Once we prove to him we knew that we started training." She took a breath "The training is run through a program Ienzo designed. It simulates heartless, nobodies, unversed, and certain members of the organization based on what information he's been able to find, the first one to run out of stamina is out. If both of us make it to the end we pass. " "The test has three parts, the first is just all heartless. They just keep coming, then whenever Master Yen Sid is ready, he sends in the unversed. The heartless keep coming as well, if I prove I can handle them he sends in two random members of the organization. If me, Axel, or the two of us beat the two of them, it ends the exam and I pass."

"When." he corrected.

She blushed. "We'll see"

Riku smiled "I wanted to ask you, how come the test changed from when Sora and I took it?"

Kairi shrugged "Well as Ienzo has gathered more information about the organization, and as more worlds have been becoming overrun by heartless. Master Yen Sid decided to change the exam"

"Lucky you"

She smiled "I suppose"

"Make him proud Kairi"

"I will"

_The next day_

Kairi gasped for air as she raced past Axel once more. This battle had already gone on significantly longer than anything she'd ever imagined, and the organization members hadn't even shown up yet. She landed on the ground, only to end up cartwheeling out of the way as a car shaped heartless attempted to run her over. Make him proud she thought healing herself and focusing hard on Sora's smiling face. "Kairi! A little help here!" she turned to see Axel nearly surrounded on all sides by heartless and unversed. There's no way I'll make it in-suddenly she was right there. Not taking a second to question it, she went on the defensive hacking and slashing away at the countless enemies.

"Woah that was fast!"

"Talk later!"

They resumed fighting, but the amount of enemies overwhelming. Then just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, Demyx and Luxord appeared. Axel summoned his chakrams "You handle 'em, I'll hold off the others as much as I can"

Her eyes widened in fear "Axel no! This is-"

"No time to argue" he dove in, battling off waves of heartless, and unversed.

Kairi sighed before turning her attention to the organization members, who had begun their usual attacks, but Kairi felt a second wind. I'm not standing for this anymore, no one is coming between me and Sora ever again. Realizing she had the ability to teleport just as they did, she went all in. Pummeling Demyx with countless attacks, then the second Luxord attempted to attack, she'd teleport out of the way and begin attacking him back. However just as she'd almost had both of them beat, they surrounded her completely, and the heartless, nobodies and unversed weren't far behind.

"Axel!"

"A little help here?!" he called from behind a wall of enemies she had no way of getting through. Luxord smirked "Now where will you go silly-."

Before he could finish that sentence Kairi leapt up into the air. She'd been reading one of Merlin's books on certain spells, and there was one in particular she'd wanted to try. I hope this works, with a deep breath she threw her Keyblade as hard as she could, "Firaga Surrounda!" the second it impacted the ground, a huge wall of fire permeated outward from it in all directions, instantly obliterating everything in its path. She landed gracefully on the ground and picked up her Keyblade, wait where's-suddenly the simulation ended, and she was back in the forest. "N-no…way"

Master Yen Sid clapped several times "Well done Kairi" Axel's jaw dropped in shock "H-how did you….."

She shrugged "I let my heart guide me"

"That's one heck of a heart"

"Be that as it may. Axel, well done. Putting youself in harm's way to help out a friend, and the way you handled the variety of enemies, are all strong qualities of a keyblade master, congratulations"

He bowed his head "Thank you, master.

Kairi smiled "Nice job Lea"

His eyes widened, "You got it memorized?!" she giggled in response.

Master Yen Sid cleared his throat "Kairi"

Her face suddenly went serious as he continued. "You fought off the heartless, the nobodies and the unversed. Even knowing Lea was in trouble you focused on what was in front of you. You held your own against the various enemies and the organization. These are all qualities of a Keyblade master. So it is my honor to proclaim you as such"

She bowed "Thanks Master Yen Sid, I won't let you down"

Axel scratched his head in confusion "So now what?"

Master Yen Sid smiled "Now you go out and join the others, there are countless worlds out there that need protection. Speak with the king, he'll inform you of your destination and provide the necessary arrangements. Never let your guard down" with one last bow from the two of them, they scurried away.

Once they were out of sight, Ansem arrived "She's done well"

Master Yen Sid nodded and turned to him "Are you sure this is not some other spell?"

"Positive. Sora shall return soon enough."

Meanwhile in the Keyblade graveyard the organization was having a meeting, "Ugh, its been forever! Can't you just undo the spell so we can get on with it?!" Larxene complained.

Xemnas smirked "Patience. It won't be much longer, I've got them divided up. That's their first mistake, with Sora gone we can take over the other worlds and it won't be long before the others will start to doubt his return. This will cause a void in their heart, which once filled with darkness will bring them over to our side."

Luxord laughed "Great plan Master. Wish I'da thought of it first"

"Silence! Just do as you're told, head to the other worlds and either finish them off, or bring them to our side. Except the guardians of light, I need them alive-"

"So he can form his fancy blade we know! I'm outta here!" Larxene said before vanishing.

"Ugh, where's the faith?" Xigbar said before disappearing. The others soon followed suit, Xemnas stroked his chin soon Sora you will see what happens when light clashes with darkness.

**For those who are wondering, teleporting is an ability Kairi unlocked in the battle. Similar to in the game when a character levels up. Year 2 is on the next page :)**


	10. Year 2

_Year 2_

**Hey ya'll, hope you enjoyed the last chapter! As with the last chapter this would be mostly cutscenes in game with a save point just before the scene with the pond. Enjoy! **

Ienzo typed in the latest information he'd dug up while Cid made the last adjustments to the machine, "You really think this hunk of junk can bring 'em back huh?"

Ienzo sighed "Yes, and again I politely ask that you stop calling it that"

"Huh, whatever. Changes are done"

"You really think it'll work this time?" a new soft voice said.

Ienzo looked up to see Cloud and Tifa standing in the doorway, he sighed "It should, if my calculations-"

Cid cut him off "Calculations smalculations, lets fire this thing up and get this over with"

Ienzo let out a frusterated sigh "Very well, both replicas in place?"

"As they have been"

Ienzo hit a few keys "Right. Five. Four. Three. Two. One." The cacoon like structure closed over the chair where the replica bodies lay. It whirred to life, releasing a cloud of stream around the chairs "Twenty percent….thiry….forty….." then suddenly, sparks began to fly from the cacoon covering the replicas. Ienzo sighed, hitting the emergency shut off and powering the machine down.

"Calculations huh?"

"Would you shut up?! This isn't like working on a gummy ship!" Ienzo fumed.

Cid took the toothpick out of his mouth "And just what's that supposed to mean?!"

Tifa stepped in "Alright enough. Cid, take a walk"

"Hmph, this place sucks anyway" he said bluntly, heading towards the exit. Ienzo tensed but didn't say a word.

Cloud took a breath "What's the problem?"

Ienzo sighed "The problem is, their hearts won't wake up even with all the data I have. Their hearts need something to connect to, normally that'd be…."

Tifa pursed her lips "It'd be Sora…there has to be another way-"

"That bad huh?" a new voice said. They turned to see another familiar face standing in the doorway, "Kairi! Nice outfit" Tifa said with a wink.

Kairi smiled walking over to where they were "Thanks, last one was destroyed in battle plus it was getting a bit small, you were saying Ienzo?"

He sighed "I was just saying their hearts won't come back on their own, they need something to grab onto, I can't just make the heart want to appear"

Kairi put her hand on her chin "Something to grab onto…wait."

Cloud frowned "You've….got an idea?"

"Actually I might"

"Absolutely not" Riku breathed,

Kairi sighed "Riku. It's the only way we've tried everything else"

"What's going on in here?" they turned to see Leon and Yuffie stepping inside.

Kairi frowned "Leon? Yuffie? I thought you were-"

"We finished early, Kairi what's going on?" Yuffie interjected. S

he sighed "We need to give their hearts something to grab onto, otherwise the process isn't going to work. So what I propose is since I'm connected to Sora, and Namine is inside my heart. Let me dive into the Station of Awakening, then Ienzo can turn the machine on and I can unlock their hearts from inside. Then out here, Riku can use his Keyblade to extract their hearts"

Leon nodded "That might just work"

RIku shook his head "Or it might trap Kairi in the Station of Awakening."

Kairi sighed in frustration "Riku its-"

"No Kairi, I'm not losing both of you we'll find another-"

"Shut up!" she snapped suddenly, causing everyone to jump in surprise. She sighed once more "Look. This is the only way, yes its risky I'm aware of that. But I'm not going to sit by and let our one potential chance of winning this war go to waste. I need…..I need Namine here, and Roxas too. When Sora comes back we'll need all the help we can get to take on the organization. Also, sorry I snapped everyone" the room went quiet for several moments.

"Its…..alright. I…..guess we really don't have a choice huh?" Riku said nervously.

She shook her head "No, Ienzo?" he turned in his chair to face her "Yes?" she gave a nod "Fire up the machine"

, "See you on the other side" Riku said.

Kairi nodded summoning her Keyblade and moving into position.

Leon moved up to the computer console "Will this really work?"

Ienzo sighed "It should"

_"Should?_"

He typed in some more information "I've never seen it done this way before, but Kairis right its our only shot"

Leon eyed the screen of endless data, trying to make sense of it all. "Could she really get stuck in there?"

Ienzo sighed "Not likely" suddenly Leon grabbed him by the collar and forced him to face him "Better not be, got it?"

Ienzo gulped and gave a nod "If…..you don't mind" Leon squinted and let go.

"Kairi are you sure about this?" Tifa asked once more.

Kairi nodded "I'm sure, its what I want. Its what Sora would do if he were….that's good enough for me"

"Ten seconds!" Ienzo called.

"Be safe, and don't stay in there long" Cloud added. Kairi gave a nod and summoned her Keyblade, suddenly a white portal appeared in front of her. I'll make you proud Sora, with a deep breath she held her Keyblade out in front of her and a single beam fired out from it, and then her body disappeared.

Kairi felt herself floating, but everything around her was completely black, "Namine? Roxas?" nothing but silence filled the air. She bit her lip, think Kairi think why isn't this…."Wait" she made a fist and held it up to her chest "Guide me" suddenly a white light shined from her chest briefly before disappearing.

_"Kairi?" _Namine's voice said

"Namine!"

_"Its good to hear your voice, what are you doing here?"_

"We're trying to bring you guys back, we need your help"

_"I don't know, Roxas and I-"_

"Namine please! Soras gone missing and the worlds are becoming more overrun with heartless and unversed. We can't let the organization get away with this, surely the two of you must relate after what they did to you" silence once again filled the air.

"Namine?...Namine?!"

_"Yeah I was just talking to Roxas, Kairi. I'm so sorry to hear he's gone"_

"Hes not gone! He's just…missing"

_"Right. Sorry, okay. Alright hold on" _

Kairi waited patiently for what felt like an eternity.

_"Kairi, hold out your Keyblade"_ Roxas said.

"Roxas?!...right, got it" summoning Destiny's Embrace she held it out in front of her. Suddenly a white flash, and then there it was. A multicolored platform with Roxas and Namine on it, then suddenly their hands reached out towards one another and as they touched, a keyhole formed. Kairi's eyes grew wide as her Keyblade began to glow, and a single blue beam fired out towards the keyhole.

"Everythings stable for now!" Ienzo yelled over the unbelievably loud noise, suddenly the bodies began to twist and turn in the chairs.

"Whats happening?!" Tifa called.

Ienzo struggled not to tear up "Riku get ready!"

Riku summoned his Keyblade and soon the replicas began to glow. "Now!" Riku flipped his Keyblade around several times before firing off a beam of energy into the replica. Then the beam then bounced from the first replica to the second, and a bright white flash blinded everyone in the room releasing a huge surge in energy that knocked everyone to the ground, soon the machine began powering down releasing a cloud of smoke in the process.

Tifa struggled to stand back up as the smoke began to clear "Cloud!"

"Right here" she felt his hand grip hers before turning to see him standing next to her.

She smiled in comfort "Where are the others?" before he could answer the smoke finally began to clear, and there were Kairi and Riku smiling. "You guys alright?" Cloud asked.

Kairi turned to them and gave a nod "Look" they turned to where they were staring to see the cocoon like structures moved out of the way. There laying in the two chairs were Roxas and Namine.

Ienzo stood and dusted himself off "Well I'll have to make some more modifications so it's a bit less…..in any case, it seems Kairi was right."

Leon nodded "Good job"

"How come their not awake?" Yuffie inquired. Kairi walked up to the two of them "Roxas? Namine?" on cue, their deep blue eyes slowly began to open.

"It…..worked?" Roxas asked.

Namine smiled "It did" then ever so slowly they rose out of bed and stood. Roxas was wearing the same outfit he wore in digital Twilight Town, while Namine wore her signature white mini dress.

"Great to have you guys back" Riku said, they both gave a nod.

Suddenly Tifa's gummiphone began to ring, she sighed "Perfect timing, hello? Yes…..yes there with….ok got it" she hung up "That was the king, another world in trouble. He wants all four of us together this time"

Cloud sighed "Duty calls, we'll leave you guys to it"

Leon nodded "And Kairi? Nice work"

Yuffie gasped "A Leon compliment?"

Leon smiled slightly "Don't get used to it" with that they stepped out of the room.

"So um…now what?" Namine asked nervously. "We'll go see Master Yen Sid and get you guys caught up, he'll know what to do next" Kairi suggested.

_Some time later_

"And that is where we are" Master Yen Sid finished.

Namine's eyes widened "Wow, so we have no idea where Sora is?"

Kairi shook her head "No, but you two came back so he must be ok"

Roxas nodded "We'll find him"

Master Yen Sid held up his hand "Not yet, you've yet to receive the proper training on the various new enemies you shall face."

"We don't have time for that! The organization-"

"Roxas" Namine breathed. He turned to her, staring into her identical eyes. "He's right, we don't know what's out there. A lot has changed while we've been gone, I want….no I have to make this right. To help Sora and his friends, after what we've done and what the Organization has done to us, it's the least we can do"

He sighed "I guess that's true" he turned back to Master Yen Sid who gave a nod "You two may make a valuable team, but first you must train. I will oversee it myself first hand and get you two special vestments to shield you from the darkness. Also one last thing." Then he did something neither of them had ever experienced or imagined. He smiled, "Its good to have you back"

_ A few days later_

"Roxas, I don't know if I can do this" Namine breathed, as they stood up on the hill where Axel and Kairi used to hang out. They'd started their training right away, spending the first few days learning knowledge about the unversed, nobodies and the organization. Unfortunately they'd hit a bit of a roadblock, Roxas had been able to wield a Keyblade for quite some time, Namine on the other hand was another story. She held out her hand once more and waited, and waited, and then waited some more.

She lowered her arm sighed in frustration "This is hopeless"

"No its not, we're gonna figure this out. Let's think about this for a minute. I inherited my power by a connection with Sora, and even though he's not here that connection is still there for me, so it must be there for you too…..wait"

She frowned "What?" Roxas held out his hand, and flicked his wrist slightly allowing his Keyblade to appear. "Namine…"

"What Roxas?"

"Try to flick your wrist"

"Really?"

He nodded "Give it a try" she took a deep breath, held out her hand once more before closing her eyes. She focused deeply on the fire that burned in her soul, and the desire to save the person she cared about, then she flicked her wrist. Her arm immediately sank downward as the mostly white Keyblade appeared in her hand.

Roxas' eyes widened "You did it!"

She opened her eyes and studied the Keyblade carefully. "I can't believe it…"

He smiled "I knew you could do it"

She turned to him, looking up into his eyes and smiling back "Thanks Roxas, now where were we?"

Over the next several weeks, they trained hard. Taking on gauntlet after gauntlet while also learning as much about the new enemies as they could. Namine struggled throughout the beginning of the process, losing stamina many times but Roxas wouldn't let her give up. They trained everyday, even outside of the simulation as well, and slowly but surely Namine gained strength. Kairi even loaned her Merlin's book of spells, allowing her magic to develop as well. Before they knew it, their training was almost done.

Roxas picked up a few things at the accessory shop before, heading back towards the Haunted Mansion. Then he noticed something familiar in front of the Bistro, his eyes grew wide in shock "Axel!" the person turned around, and sure enough there he was with Kairi.

Roxas rushed over "I've been looking everywhere for you

" Axel smiled awkwardly "Heh, I'm kinda hard to find…"

Kairi smiled slightly "I should um, check with the others to see if they heard from Sora. See ya guys later!" they reached out to stop her, but were unable to do so as she scurried away.

Stone cold silence fell between the two of them, before Axel finally spoke up. "I'm sorry"

Roxas' eyes grew wide, as Axel took a breath and continued. "I'm so sorry for lying to you. I thought…I thought I was doing the right thing"

Roxas frowned "By tearing our friendship apart?"

Axel cringed in pain. "Ok that's fair, I just….Roxas. I really am sorry"

Roxas sighed before giving a nod. "Its in the past now, so…." He extended his head "I'm Roxas"

Lea hesitated at first before extending his arm out as well "Lea"

Roxas smiled as they shook "Nice to meet you"

_ Several hours later _

, Namine sat in her room sketching a picture of her, Roxas, Sora and Kairi at the beach. Maybe when this is over the four of us can-.

"Thought I might find you up here"

She looked up to see Roxas standing there at her bedside. It was their last day off before the final part of the exam, and to say she was nervous was an understatement. "That or because your rooms down the hall"

He chuckled "Maybe, cool drawing" she angled it slightly so he could see better. "Ah, makes sense. The beach huh?" she smiled "Sound familiar?"

He smiled back "A bit, but hey I wanted to talk to you about something, you know…..it wasn't your fault Namine"

She frowned in confusion "Sora's memories I mean. Yeah you did it but, the Organization is just….evil. That's what they do, they either get you on their side or force you"

Her face softened. "Yes it is, I could've resisted, or maybe-"

"Namine. You'd just been born, theres no way you could've taken them on yourself. Look I used to work for them too"

"That's different, it was-"

"Voluntary? Maybe, but as soon as I learned the truth I got out of there the first chance I got, and you did too"

She sighed but said nothing, he continued "And now you're here, and so am I. We get a second chance"

"Roxas"

He looked deeply into her eyes "Yeah?"

She smiled wide "Thank you."

He smiled back "Of course, what are friends for?"

She titled her head curiously "Are we? Friends I mean?"

"I think so, aren't we?"

"Absolutely"

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, an uneasy tension sitting between them. All the hours they'd spent together in and out of training, they'd found themselves growing closer. They had an unspoken bond that no one else had been able to recreate. Neither of them dare brought it up, but there was no question it was there.

He took a breath, "Well um, anyways get some rest alright?"

She nodded "You too, good luck tomorrow"

"By the way Kairis downstairs waiting for you"

Moments later, Namine hurried down the stairs, to see Kairi standing in the entryway "Kairi!"

She smiled "Hey sorry to bother you, can we talk?"

"Of course! Follow me" moments later they met in the backyard of the mansion. The backyard was mostly surrounded trees off in the distance and a rather large pond. The always setting sun reflected off the water, creating a stunning view.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" Kairi asked.

Namine bit her lip "Nervous but I think I'm ready"

Kairi smiled "You've got it, I'm sure the two of you will pass, you're a team"

Namine smiled back "Thanks Kairi"

Kairi bit her lip "What was it like in there? I mean inside my….."

Namine sighed "Cold. Dark, I could feel…..I could feel it was breaking to pieces, guess now I know why"

Kairi's face softened "I'm sorry"

Namine shook her head "No no! Its fine, Kairi. Please, I get it. That was when I decided to use you and Sora's connection to talk to Roxas so please, you have nothing to apologize for."

Kairi tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear nervously "That must be how I got the feeling Sora was alright, thanks Namine"

"Don't mention it"

Kairi bit her lip "So um, how does it feel? To be, free?"

Namine sighed "Weird, I'm getting used to it but its strange. I mean I've been part of Sora all along, and I can still see his memories of you, but now we're…friends. Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

Namie pursed her lips "Can I ask you something?"

Kairi nodded "Sure"

Namine took a deep breath "How do you feel about the fact I was created?"

Kairi quit walking, thinking it over. "Honestly, I'm really happy about it, you remind me a lot of myself. Caring, gentle and willing to do anything to protect the ones important to them, so I'm very happy and you should be too"

Namine blushed slightly, fortunately the setting sun covered it up for the most part. "Thank you I just thought-"

"After you messed with Sora's memories I'd be upset, I know. Namine, that's who you were then what happens next is up to you"

Namine's heart grew warm. "Th-thank you"

Kairi smiled "How do you feel?"

"Nervous, excited mostly just…."

Kairi smiled "Just happy to be a help not a hindrance"

Namine's eyes grew wide "Yeah how did….oh I guess we are kind of alike huh?"

Kairi's smile grew wider "A bit, I should get going I'm meeting the others at the clock tower"

Namine bit her lip "Can you stay a little longer?"

Kairi nodded "Sure" they sat down at a nearby bench in front of the pond, watching the setting sun and pondering one thing. If all this was possible, what's next?

_The next day_

Namine gasped for air, as she defeated Larxene at last ending the simulation once and for all. "Not….anymore"

"Hey you alright?"

Namine looked up to see Roxas standing there. She smiled and gave a nod "I'm fine, just glad its over"

He smiled back "Nice work"

Master Yen Sid clapped happily "Well done! Both of you, although Roxas already wielded a Keyblade I'm happy that you have what it takes to be a Keyblade master. Namine, having never wielded a Keyblade before I'm impressed with how well you've been able to pick it up Congradulations to both of you, I now proclaim you masters of the Keyblade."

Both of them bowed "Thank you master, we won't let you down" Namine said.

Roxas nodded "So now we go look for Sora?"

Master Yen Sid shook his head "Sora can take care of himself. Ansem and I have come up with a few theories, but its going to take time. Meanwhile, go to the bistro. Tifa and Cloud will inform you of what is to come" they stood up perfectly straight and gave a salute, before turning around and running away. Master Yen Sid sighed, if we are correct he'll be back soon.

Tifa smiled as for once Cloud was actually eating and not staring off in the distance thinking about who knows what. "Enjoying it?"

He swallowed and gave a nod "Its um, pretty good"

She giggled slightly before taking a bite of hers. "MMmmmm this is amazing"

Cloud took a deep breath "Tifa"

she took another bite "Hm?"

"Thanks for standing by me all this time. On and off the battlefield, I know I haven't been-"

"Stop. Cloud, its fine that's what I'm here for. I'm your sidekick, I'll always protect you"

He smiled "Me too, and you're more than just a sidekick"

She smiled and they gazed deeply into one another's eyes for what felt like an eternity.

Then Roxas and Namine showed up, "Sorry we're not interrupting are we?"

Tifa smiled "Not at all, here" she pulled out two gummiphones and handed them to each of them. "Kairi said she showed you how they work?"

"More or less" Roxas replied.

Cloud stood up "We'll show you to your ship, and explain the mission along the way. Lets go"

"Black box?" Namine asked as they wandered into the gummy hangar.

Tifa nodded "We have reason to believe its somewhere in Radiant Garden. We were hoping to send Kairi but her and Axel are tied up in another world, so its up to you. Find the black box and bring it back here, take out any heartless or other enemies that stand in your way"

"Where are you guys gonna go?" Roxas asked.

Cloud sighed "We already have another mission, gotta see you two off first. Here's the gummyship, Cid said he walked you through everything?"

Namine nodded "We got it covered, don't worry about us"

Tifa smiled "Alright, well may your heart be your guiding key" with that they waved one last time and went their separate ways.

Over the course of the next year they searched everywhere for the black box, but it proved to be increasingly evasive. They came across a few organization members but no one was a match for the two of them. They defeated countless heartless, learning a variety of new abilities while growing in strength, magic and speed. They also grew closer, their friendship became stronger as did their relationship with the others. However they grew increasingly restless and frustrated, they wanted to take it to the Organization and end things once and for all. However the battle between light and darkness had one more surprise left in store for them.


	11. Year 3

**Hello all! This is the last of the flashback chapters, the ending of which leads directly into the Keyblade graveyard. There is one fight scene which in the game would be playable and you could again choose what character to play as. There would be save point just before the fight itself, the rest would be all cutscenes. I will reply to comments after this chapter, without further ado enjoy!**

"Well this has been going extraordinarily well" Luxord said.

Larxene scowled "I told you we should have just had them come to the graveyard! Ugh wasted all this time…"

"Like you have anything better to do" Xigbar replied.

"Can it ponytail! No one asked you!"

Saix sighed "This isn't going to get us anywhere. Master? What happened?"

For the first time ever, Xemnas admitted the truth. "Sora's friends proved to be more challenging then I'd hoped. A possibility I foresaw long ago but was hoping to avoid." He then smiled wide, "Fear not, things may not have gone exactly according to plan" "That's an understatement" Larxene breathed. "However. Sora will soon be free, and he'll have no choice but to come here and face us head on. When he does, I shall ensure he has no choice but to take my master seriously"

Larxene smirked "Oh? How's that? You gonna use the same spell on someone else?"

"Silence!"

Once again Larxene couldn't keep her mouth shut "Hmph. Why don't we just grab some of them right now?"

Xigbar smirked "We tried that, you got your butt handed to ya"

Larxene scoffed "They got lucky! I'd like to see Tima try her luck again!"

"Her name was Tifa, close though" Xigbar added.

"Whatever! You didn't do so well in that fight either against….whatever her loverboys name was"

"Better than you"

Xemnas roared "Enough! We've had a minor setback, but Sora cannot prevent the inevitable. We will let them come to us, soon things will be in our favor, and the x-blade will belong to its rightful owner"

"Where are we?" Namine asked as they wandered out of a forest and up a mountain.

Roxas looked around "I'm not sure to be honest, its where the gummiship landed" suddenly a new voice filled the air

"You fool! This isn't the right one!" then they heard a crash and the sound of something breaking into a thousand pieces. "Quick hide!" Roxas said, they ducked behind a rock, peaking over to see what the commotion was.

On cue, Maleficent appeared around the corner with Pete in tow.

He shrugged "Well how was I s'posed to know?! You said it was black!"

She shook her head "You fool! How could…..ahhhh, it seems we have guests" before they could react, she waved her staff, moving the rock they were hiding behind out of the way. Her eyes grew wide "What in the name of all things are you two doing here?!"

Namine frowned "We can't let you have the black box"

Maleficient smiled coyly "Hmph, I have no idea what you're talking about"

Roxas rolled his eyes "Oh please! We heard the whole thing Maleficient"

She smirked "You'd best be gone then, this has nothing to do with you"

Namine shook her head, summoning her keyblade "Wrong. It has everything to do with us"

Maleficient laughed at the top of her lungs, "You dare to fight me?! So be it!"

Pete laughed "Don't you two nimrods know what your doin?!" he said charging them head on. "Firaga!" Namine yelled shooting a massive fireball straight towards him.

"Ooooooohhhhhhh" he called rolling around on the ground to put the fire out.

"Fool! I'll handle this myself!" Maleificient waved her staff, causing one of the trees to wrap its branches around him, and pull him high in the air. Roxas summoned his Keyblade also "This ends now"

"For you perhaps"

Roxas jumped up to fight her head on, while Namine teleported to fight her from behind. She laughed and using her staff, summoned lightning from the sky. Namine easily dodged them, firing off lightning bolts of her own. Busy with Roxas Maleficent was unable to block and soon found herself screaming out in pain, but the battle was far from over.

Soon the many various rocks in the forest levitated off the ground, before hurling themselves at the two of them. Even with teleportation and dodging, they took a few hits this time wincing in pain. However there were only so many rocks in the forest, and soon they had all been depleted. Quickly healing themselves, they moved to attack her once more.

Maleficent laughed "Very well! If this is how you want it, fine! I don't have time for this!" suddenly before they could get any closer, a green flame surrounded her body completely, and a dark purple cloud surrounded the battlefield. When the cloud cleared, they each gasped as they realized she'd now taken on the form of a black dragon.

"Namine, we got this!"

She turned to him and nodded "Lets end this!" suddenly the ground shook as Maleficent reared up on her hind legs before slamming back down, releasing a green ring of energy. Both of them jumped over it, and ran to fight Maleficent head on.

"Top!" Namine called.

"Bottom!" Roxas replied, but before they could get into position, she took several swipes them with both paws, knocking them back several feet while causing some pretty serious cuts. Roxas restored them back to full health, and they pushed forward once more. Namine leapt up on top, attacking her body with various magic spells, while Roxas focused on physically attacking the head.

Even with the two of them, Maleficent proved to be a formidable foe. Roxas got hit several times by her scorching hot fire breath, not to mention the countless swipes she'd made at him with her razor sharp teeth. Eventually he took to levitating his Keyblades and attacking her from afar, however Maleficent quickly caught onto this, by leaping her entire body forward while breathing out endless hot fire. His attempts to glide around her at fast speeds proved to be an issue, as Maleficent would then spin around to face him, putting Namine's ability to inflict damage at jeopardy. Meanwhile Namine struggled to stay on her back, firing off every spell she could think of.

Then Maleficent began spinning her whole body around rapidy, attempting to hit Roxas and knock Namine off at the same time. Ok that's enough, no one puts my friend in danger like that.

"Roxas! Pin!"

"Got it! Graviga!" he shot the spell directly at her head, shoving it deep into the ground. She pointed her Keyblade upward "Lightaga!" a white orb of energy fired upward, "Dividaga!" the orbs split into two and fired off in two opposite directions, this is it, with a deep breath she flung her body forward just as the orbs swung around. One orb heading towards Maleficent's left side, the other to her right. Just as she pulled her head out of the ground, the orbs struck from both sides and Namine from up above with her Keyblade.

Roxas blocked his face with his hand as an immense amount of energy was released, causing an enormous shockwave. When the dust cleared, there was Maleficent struggling to stay alive while Namine stood over her.

"You…how-"

"Its over" she said calmly.

Roxas rushed up to them "You alright?"

She nodded "I'm fine, you?"

He nodded and turned to their enemy who was fading away "Maleficent-"

"Not a word you imbecile, never in my wildest nightmares did I think I'd be beaten by people who aren't supposed to exist in the first place!" suddenly she collapsed onto the ground completely.

Namine sighed "You went against my friend, I can't have that regardless if I was supposed to exist or not"

"Fools!"

"Maybe, but I protect what's important to me. I protect what's in my heart, and I always will. Goodbye Maleficent" seconds later, Maleficent's body disappeared.

"OOOOOOOOOhhhh" they looked up to still see Pete stuck in the tree, which all of the sudden dropped him to the ground. Namine gasped as his body had also began fading into darkness.

Roxas frowned "How? We didn't-"

"After all the things I've done for her, this is how she repays me?!"

Namine's jaw dropped "You got hit by her attacks?"

He groaned once more "Ooooohhhh, all you two had to do was walk away! Everytime she'd slam her body down, I'd pay the price for it!"

Roxas sighed "Sorry Pete"

Pete groaned yet again "No you're not! I got suckered! Like I always do! Ooooohhhh, tell the King….." suddenly his face softened. "Tell him I said, I'm sorry and I wish things would've turned out different" before they could respond, he faded away. Again on cue Namine's gummiphone began to ring. She dug it out and hit answer.

"Hello? Kairi!" Roxas moved in closer for a better look.

"Guys! We need your help, I got separated from everyone and the battle is proving to be more difficult than we anticipated. I know you're probably on a mission but guys…..this is it. We found them, the Organizations here" their eyes grew wide in shock.

Roxas gulped "Where are you guys?

" Kairi sighed "The Keyblade Graveyard, Sora was here too but…"

Namine's mouth hung open in shock "What?! He's back? Nevermind, we're coming"

Kairi nodded "Text me when you're close, and guys. Hurry." With that the screen went blank "Lets go!" Roxas said, she nodded and followed him out of the forest.

Moments later they sat in the cockpit as Roxas typed in the coordinates.

"Roxas, are you ready for this?" she breathed as the ship began whirring to life.

"I don't know, but my friends are in trouble. Like you said I protect what's in my heart"

She smiled "That's true, and I wouldn't have it any other way" he nodded "Niether would I, strap in here we go" suddenly the ship lifted off the ground and maneuvered so that it was facing skyward. They took one last look into at each other, their eyes were filled with various hints of fear and worry, yet also passion and confidence. With a deep breath, Roxas hit the hyper button and the ship fired off at lightning speed towards outer space.

** And that is the end of the flashbacks. Please let me know what you think as always, were they good, bad, a mix? How do ya'll feel about Roxas and Namine as a team? With that being said I will see you all in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!**


	12. Nothing Can Stop The Inevitable

**Here we are, finally back in present day. Also RUNA if you're reading this, check the squiggly line photo that you always made fun of me for :P I think you'll find it will make a bit more sense after reading this chapter xD. Anyways we are back in the keyblade graveyard. If this were in game, you would again get to pick what player you want to play as, and then get a chance to mess with abilities/items/etc. Without further ado, onward and upward!**

**Gracekim20: Happy to hear! There's plenty more surprises to come ;). Also glad you like the two of them as a team! **

**Also want to thank Echoing Hunter for the follow. **

Namine smiled as Roxas helped the two of them up "Sorry we're late"

Sora smiled "That's ok, Kairi told me you two were back when we were up on the clock tower. Its good to see you"

Xemnas laughed at the top of his lungs. "What can you two do? You're just two nobodies we used to-."

In a flash Namine was on him, just inches away from his face. With a force no one saw coming, she swung her Keyblade into him releasing an enormous amount of energy. The impact threw Xemnas back clear across the battlefield, slamming him into the wall and creating a cloud of smoke, before the cloud cleared Namine landed gracefully on her feet next to Roxas.

"Stop. Making fun of us." she breathed.

Ansem-Xehanort's eyes widened "I-impossible…."

Roxas summoned his Keyblade "Not anymore." Suddenly Xemnas charged out from the cloud heading straight towards them.

Namine took charge "I've got him, Sora you-"

" "Ahhhhhh!" he called attempting to hit her head on. She swung her Keyblade once more shoving him out of the way. "Sora take Xehanort, Kairi take Riku or whoever that is. Roxas."

Roxas gave a nod "I got it"

Sora frowned "But how-"

Namine cut him off "We'll explain later Sora, just go!"

He hesitated, before giving a slight nod"Right"

Namine stood still, watching as Xemnas seethed in pain "You won't get away with that again….."

"Try me"

He roared and charged towards her with full force, suddenly Namine's Keyblade named Distant Memories glowed a dark blue and then just as he was about to make impact, she disappeared.

"Wha-" suddenly a rush of energy came from his left side, he turned just in time to see her Keyblade swing towards him. What Xemnas didn't know is that Namine's Keyblade held a very powerful spell called lapse. This spell erased the freshest part of the opponent's short term memory, causing him to think Namine was still there when she'd already jumped out of the way seconds earlier.

He held up his ethereal blade just in time to block it, "What…..how…" suddenly her Keyblade began to glow a blue yet again, and then a deep dark red. He swung his blades as hard as he could, pushing her just a few feet away before teleporting out of view. Suddenly he reappeared several feet away before firing laser projectiles from her hands directly towards Namine.

She smiled and stood completely still, then just as the projectiles were about to hit her, she vanished. Xemnas frowned, no one has ever been able to dodge my-.

"Firaga!" he turned to see her standing just a few feet behind him.

He smirked a reflected the spell away, "Nice try-" suddenly a fireball smashed him from overhead, slamming him into the ground.

Another ability of Distant Memories was the ability to split up magic spells so that they hit the enemy at multiple angles, even at different times. She waited patiently for him to resurface, then she jumped out of the way as he swung his blades of energy at her midsection, hissing in pain as he managed to get his first hit in.

"Hmph not so strong after-"

"Thundaga!" she exclaimed firing off several lightning bolts towards him, which he quickly fended off, until one struck him from behind causing him to scream in pain.

"How is this poss-" then she was on him again, swinging her Keyblade with a force even he'd yet to experience. He blocked shot after shot but she was relentless, striking several times….per second. "You. Don't get to ask. Questions. Not anymore, Roxas and I have had enough of answering to you"

Xemnas once again teleported out of the way, before reappearing ten feet away. "That is the problem with having a heart, emotion gets the better of you" he summoned a blue shield around his body.

She smiled "You honestly have no idea do you?"

"Hmph, and apparently neither do you", he fired off several life draining dark spheres from multiple directions. As before, she stood completely still and just as they were about to hit she disappeared. He roared in anger, combining all three spears into one.

"Bad idea" he turned to see her floating above "Lightaga!" she fired off several beams of light towards it, Xemnas attempted to dodge them, but it was impossible and soon her orbs of light encased his.

His eyes widened in confusion as he realized he could no longer control it, "This is not pos-"

"SHUT UP!" she screamed hurling the massive orb of light that still contained life draining properties towards him, he smirked and created a dozen copies of himself. "Now what will you do silly nobody, which one of me-"

"Dividaga!" suddenly the orbs split into twelve different copies.

His eyes widened and before he could react, they slammed into all twelve copies with lightning speed creating a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, his eyes widened at the dark orb in his midsection draining energy from him, "Hmph, you got lucky, that won't-" she cut him off by swinging her Keyblade towards him yet again. He summoned his ethereal blades once more, blocking her attacks again and again. Namine hissed once more as he managed to get a few more hits in. Then suddenly he swung his blades hard, pushing her clear to the other side of the battlefield where she quickly healed herself, "This ends now, light cannot triumph over darkness" suddenly dozens, and then hundreds of his blades began surrounding her.

"You will not escape this time" Namine watched curiously as every inch of her was surrounded, and then he struck. Once again, to his utter shock her body vanished. Then she was on him again, one instant she was hitting him from behind and then in flash she disappeared again hitting him several times from underneath.

Again and again she bombarded him with hit after hit at lightning speed, only some of which was he able to block. Then he summoned four more copies of himself. However using her very powerful magic spells, she made quick work of the fakes and he found himself once again getting bombarded with hit after hit. Then he teleported away again, only to find her rushing up from above a split second later, before he could summon his blades, she summoned another Distant Memories in her second hand, before hitting him with both at the same time.

In the blink of an eye he felt his body slam into the ground, creating an even larger cloud of dirt and dust. Namine landed gracefully on the ground in front of it, gasping for air. Then as the dust cleared she saw him, struggling to walk towards her "This…..isn't-"

She teleported up to him before putting her hand on his shoulder and shoving him to the ground. "No this cannot…." He trailed off as the balls of light drained out the remainder of his energy, "I do not understand….."

"That is the problem Xemnas, you never did, and you never will"

Xemnas smirked "We will meet again" then a corridor of darkness surrounded him, and he disappeared.

Kairi charged into Dark Riku head on he smirked and summoned his Soul Eater, then their Keyblades collided. An enormous amount of energy released out over the battlefield. He smiled "Don't you remember Kairi?" she frowned in confusion "The three of us? On the beach, building the raft to go to-"

"SHUT UP!" using her body as leverage she pushed him out of the way.

He laughed "Did I hit a nerve? Oh what about the time when-."

Suddenly she vanished, reappearing direct in front of him "Lightaga!" she called firing off several orbs of powerful light. He moved to block them, then in a flash Kairi front flipped over him, smashing him from behind with her Keyblade.

His body fired off towards the ground, he managed to stop himself right before impact. She charged at him once more, he moved to block her only to find himself unable to do so as she did a spin attack, striking him with her Keyblade again and again. "You don't get to do that! Those aren't your memories! They belong to the real Riku!"

She teleported away, reappearing a just a few feet behind him "Firaga!" she fired out several balls of fire at lightning speed.

He struggled to dodge them, stunned by thier strength and speed. "I-imposs-"

"Behind you" his eyes widened, and he screamed in pain yet again as she struck him with her Destiny's Embrace, again and again and again.

He turned to face her "Sora doesn't deserve you. You may have gotten a few lucky hits in, but your no match-"

Suddenly Kairi's Keyblade glowed dark blue "Don't. Speak….Oceaga!"

In a flash, five massive orbs of water fired off his way. He smirked and moved to block them all, until suddenly each one split into two, "Electriga!" his eyes widened as bolts of electricity fired off of the surface of each orb.

Any attempt he made to block was futile, and he was soon screaming in agony as electricity coursed through the water into his body. He soon found himself falling falling to the ground, impacting moments later. He struggled to stand as

Kairi walked over to him calmly "You'll never be Riku"

He smirked as his body began disintegrating into darkness. "Maybe not, tell him something for me would you?"

She tilted her head curiously as he continued, "Tell him, he should've thrown the race" before she could respond, he disappeared.

**KH**

Sora stood completely still, staring Ansem-Xehanort dead in the eyes. "Your efforts are futile…..nothing can stop the inevitable"

Sora summoned his Keyblade "You're wrong, I proved it before and I'll do it again. Whatever it takes to protect my friends"

"Then I've no choice but to dispose of you" with that he leapt forward and moved towards Sora at full speed. Sora held up his Keyblade just as Xehanort made impact, partially blocking the attack. However Xehnort was too strong and ended up shoving Sora out of the way before disappearing in a corridor of darkness.

Sora looked around around frantically, where is he? Suddenly he reappeared, as Roxas. This caught Sora off guard to say the least, but for the first time something was different. Its not Roxas, I just spoke with him a minute ago he's fighting that black hooded figure. With a deep breath, he charged towards him head on.

"Sora its me Roxas, don't you-"

"Thundaga! Firaga! Blizzaga!"

Xehnort's eyes widened as Sora fiired off spell after spell at lightning fast speeds, before charging forward head on. Just as he arrived Xehanort disappeared into a dark corridor once more. Sora turned to see Kairi floating up in the air

"Sora, help me he-"

He cut the sentence short by striking with both Keyblades at the same time. "You're. Not. Kairi."

Suddenly the Kairi look alike vanished, and reappeared on the other side of the battle field as Xehanort, "Impressive you-"

Sora gasped as suddenly the distance between them shrank to inches in an instant, not missing a beat he went on the attack once more. Xehanort then disappeared once more, only to reappear under an aura of darkness that was impentetrable to attacks. Sora's eyes widened as he began firing off blasts of darkness at a rapid fire pace, some of which Sora was unable to dodge, others he was not.

He screamed in pain before quickly healing himself and continuing to attempt to get closer finally the shield dropped, and Sora jumped in. Ansem-Xehanort had little time to react as Sora was on him, swinging and battering away with his Keyblade. On and on it went, Sora would get a few hits in, then Xehanort would disappear then the second he reappeared, Sora was on him bombarding him with magic spells and hits again and again. Xehanort managed to block some but not all of Sora's hits. Then just as Sora was getting down to the last health bar, Xehanort disappeared once more. Sora searched around frantically for any sign of him, then suddenly the sky began to grow dark and violet orbs of energy began surrounding Sora.

Ansem-Xehanort then reappeared just feet away again under an aura of darkness "I told you, nothing can stop-"

Sora summoned the a second Keyblade in his other hand, and using his newly learned teleporting ability honed in on the barrier, full aware that the violet orbs were right behind him. Ansem-Xehanort laughed "Surely you cannot think that because-"

A split second later, both Keyblades impacting the barrier.

It shattered, instantly. As Sora hit the barrier, suddenly the violet orbs hit him in the back causing an agonizing amount of pain but there was no way he was going to stop now. Ansem-Xehanort's eyes grew wide in surprise as Sora unleashed a plethora of attacks, swinging and clubbing away with both Keyblades.

"Stay. Away. From my. Friends." Ansem-Xehanort tried every ability he had to get Sora under control, but it was futile and he soon found himself on the ground gasping for breath. Sora de summoned both Keyblades "Why couldn't you just leave them alone?"

He chuckled "You shall soon see" summoning a dark corridor around himself, and his body soon disappeared.

Roxas stood silently at the hooded figure who did not speak, "We don't have to do this, the organization isn't what you think-"

Suddenly the hooded figure moved towards him at lightning speed. Roxas summoned his Keyblade, and then simply teleported to the right in time, however the hooded figure wouldn't be denied. In the blink of an eye, they were on him, bombarding him with attacks.

Roxas blocked again and again, amazed at the person's speed, again and again they slashed at him with amazing strength. Their ability to teleport was like nothing he'd ever seen before, and the few times he did try a sneak attack, they simply moved their Keyblade to the other hand and resumed fighting.

As he blocked them, he tried to think of what he could do to- then they sped up yet again. It seemed he couldn't blink his eyes without having to turn around and block them off. Roxas gave up strategizing and began fighting back, even getting in a few hits but it wasn't easy. Deciding to step it up, he performed his Duel Bout technique, causing them to scream in agony as he finally got several hits in, before they dodged out of the way.

On and on it went, swing after swing, hit after hit the figure just never let up. He had no chance to summon magic or heal, it was just constant back and forth. Then their keyblades clashed, each of them struggling for dominance over the other.

Then, suddenly the hooded figure began to whimper, "Its not fair" they breathed. Roxas frowned in confusion. That voice, could it be? The hooded figure pushed him away, teleporting behind him before charging him head on once more.

Suddenly his mind flashed of him and his two friends on the clock tower. There was Axel with his red spiky hair and hilarious personality, and then- "Xion! Stop!"

Tthe figure froze suddenly. "Its alright, you can stop now I'm here"

She sobbed and dropped her Keyblade. "You remember?"

He moved closer, and pulled her into a hug "I'm here"

Suddenly Xemnas reappeared "Useless puppet" he kicked both of them hard, sending them flying across the battlefield, removing Xion's hood in the process.

"I don't need hearts, I will scatter them all to the winds!" suddenly he disappeared again, before reappearing and grabbing Kairi by the arm.

Sora's eyes grew wide "Kairi!" she tried to free herself from Xemnas' grip, but it was futile. "Let me go!" she summoned her Keyblade into her other hand and attempted to attack him.

He shook his head "A meaningless effort. Slumber." suddenly Kairi's eyes closed and her body went limp.

"What did you do to her?!" Namine exclaimed.

Xemnas smirked "I told you we would meet again. What difference does one little light make? You have others, just as we have more darknesses to replenish our ranks" suddenly a corridor of darkness surrounded him, and the two of them disappeared.

**For those who aren't familiar with the term, throw the race means to let the other person win. It's a reference to the first Kingdom Hearts game. With that being said, poor Kairi ****, she trained so hard and they still nabbed her. What will happen next? I'm not telling ;), see ya'll in the next chapter! **


	13. Pain Is Being Human

**Alrighty people, this is it. We're nearing the end of our journey. In game there would be no more switching characters, you could only play as Sora. Also want to point out the irony isn't lost on me that this is the 13****th**** chapter. Without further ado, enjoy! **

**Hero of Neutrality:** **Tragically it is a possibility, that's all I'm going to say *sad face***

**Gracekim20: Yes it does! Here we go! **

** Also want to thank blacklotus689 for the follow/favorite! **

"Kairi!" a new voice called, they turned to see Riku and Axel running up to them.

"What happened?" Riku inquired.

"Xemnas….he grabbed…." Namine trailed off.

Then Axel noticed who was standing there "Xion?" she looked away, ashamed of what she'd almost done to Roxas.

Axel turned to Sora "You go help Kairi"

Sora nodded "Right. Gotta run, good luck!"

"I'll come with you" Riku added.

Namine nodded "Me too, Roxas?"

He turned to Axel and Xion, and then back to Namine "We'll catch up" the three of them nodded, and ran off.

Roxas walked up to Axel "You alright?"

He smirked "Who do you think you're talking to?" before Roxas could respond, they heard sobbing. The two of them turned to see tears rolling down Xion's face.

Axel sighed "Guess I…..should have bought some ice cream." The two of them turned to him, and even Xion couldn't help but smile, Axel rushed forward and the three of them shared a group hug.

The remainder of the group ran through corridor after corridor until eventually coming to an opening with a looming rock tower. Suddenly an enormous amount of energy was released, causing a dust cloud to cover them. Then as the dust cleared there stood Young Master Xehanort, Xemnas, and Ansem-Xehanort and at the top of the tower, was Master Xehanort.

Sora summoned his keyblade "Xemnas! Where's Kairi?!"

Xehanort laughed slightly, "Settle down, boy."

"Its Sora!"

"The thirteen darknesses and seven lights have clashed nine times, yielding these nine keys."

He waved his hand in front of them, and suddenly nine Keyblades appeared floating around him in a circular pattern. "Keys?" Namine asked.

"We are four short…..but those four keys will be produced here and now."

Namine shook her head "Yeah sure. And what makes you think there'd ever be any way we'd help you with that?"

"You forget I plan for every eventuality"

Sora's eyes grew wide. "Kairi!"

Riku walked up to where Sora was "If you do summon Kingdom Hearts, we will defeat you and we will close it again"

"Perhaps. That is…..if you survive that long!" Then just like that, the battle between the six of them began to battle.

Sora got Ansem-Xehanort, while Riku took on Young Master Xehanort, and Namine got Xemnas yet again. However this battle was different than the previous ones they'd fought. For one, their enemies seemed to be working together for once, combining various darkness attacks. At first the three of them struggled, having never fought together before this wasn't exactly the best place for orientation.

"This isn't working!" Namine called, narrowly dodging one of Xemnas' attacks.

Riku nodded "We need another plan"

Sora rolled out of the way, avoiding one of Ansem-Xehanort's attacks. "Just attack what's right in front of you! Help each other when you can! Lets not worry about who's fighting who, we're all on the same side" Namine and Riku nodded, before diving back into battle once more.

It took a few more failed tries, but soon they started to get the hang of it. Using her lapse spell, Namine shot off a fireball towards Young Master Xehanort, who immediately dodged it, launching himself straight for her. Then at the last second, Sora took her place, holding his keyblade straight out in front of him.

"Thundaga!"

"Firaga!" Namine called from behind. Seconds later a bolt of lightning struck Young Master Xehanort head on, and then seconds later a massive ball of fire hit him from behind.

Again and again, they alternated, attack after attack. At one point Master Xehanort was even able to summon a wave of keyblades, striking each of them with relentless force and nearly ending the battle. However this time, light would not be extinguished by darkness so easily. All three enemies were relentless, and didn't stop putting up a fight until the last swing of the Keyblade.

Xemnas stumbled to the ground as Sora and Namine walked up to him. "You were right, we did meet again" she breathed.

He laughed in response. "That…we did. I'll go back to my time and live out my life. But Sora, you're done now, there's no escaping the inevitable" Before they could respond, his body disappeared.

Meanwhile just nearby Riku stood in front of Young Master Xehanort as his body began fading into darkness.

"Bested…..yet again….."

The others soon joined him. "What do you feel? Was it worth it?" Namine asked

"I feel….the emptiness where my companions once stood. I took them for granted. And now, I have….nothing. My first surge of emotion in years….for as long as I can remember….and its…..loneliness. Do you see? A heart is just pain."

"Pain is being human, Xemnas." Sora replied, he stopped and turned his head slightly

"Really? It must take….incredible strength…." then, before he could say anything else his body disappeared.

They rushed over the Ansem-Xehanort as he struggled to stay standing.

Riku walked ahead of the others "Ansem"

"What….a journey you and I have had…."

"You know, its strange. I think I'm gonna miss you"

"Your strength is vaster than darkness. I knew I never stood a chance. Part of me wanted to defy my fate…but when the others betrayed us, I found I did not care. And then, nothing else seemed to matter anymore."

"Ansem…." Sora breathed.

Ansem-Xehanort turned to look at them, "What? It is time to move on, boy….There is more to seek…so go forth now, and seek it…." Before they could respond, he too disappeared.

They looked up as Xehanort summoned the new keys, "Twelve keys we have now….leaving just one more!" suddenly the twelve Keyblades stopped spinning. Master Xehanort held his Keyblade up to the sky, and a purple lightning bolt fired upward. Suddenly a hole opened and a beam of sunlight shined down, "Now. Sora. Darkness and light's final clash." Sora watched in fear of what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, Kairi's lifeless body appeared next to him floating in mid air. Using dark magic Master Xehanort moved her body towards the front "Kairi!"

"You require motivation" Sora began racing up towards them, having a good idea what was about to happen. Before he could reach the top, Master Xehanort lifted his Keyblade, and took a swing towards Kairi's chest.

**What's gonna happen to Kairi? Will she suffer the same fate as she did in game? You'll have to tune in next time! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what ya'll think. See ya next time! **


	14. Remember What I Said?

**For obvious reasons I'm going to keep this part short. Here are my replies to the comments. **

**Hero of Neutrality: No no! You're fine, I took no offense to the comment at all, my sad face was more just due to what happened to her in the game. You're totally fine! Your question will be answered very shortly…..**

**Disney Boy: Thank you for your feedback, super interesting concept feel free to PM me more info if you've got more ideas/theories! **

Sora's eyes widened in fear, and deep inside him his heart began to crumble. No, this can't be happening, I have to get there in time, I have to save her, but it was not to be. "Kairi!" Master Xehanort swung his Keyblade at full force, "No!" seconds later Sora reached the top, gasping in shock at what he found.

Master Xehanort's eyes widened, his Keyblade stood just a few inches from Kairi's back, unable to make impact due to one small thing, her hand. Her grip on the Keyblade tightened as she opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. No smile, no expression other than pure anger "I don't think so. You underestimate light's power, and the hearts ability to listen. As soon as I heard Sora calling out to me, there was no way I was gonna let you get away with this" he smiled wide "Your resistance is amusing, but it won't save you" suddenly a dark portal surrounded her, and she vanished.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled, swinging his keyblade towards Xehanort, who immediately swung back causing him to fall down below. Master Xehanort for once in his life confused on what to do next, floated up towards Kingdom Hearts.

Sora sank to his knees, crying out in pain "Nooooo!"

"Sora!" Riku called running up to his aid. He soon fell to his knees in sadness, Riku and Namine stood still unable to find the words to say.

On cue Donald, Goofy and King Mickey arrived, "Sora, what's going on?" the king inquired.

"Xehanort has Kairi" Riku replied. They all gasped in shock as tears began falling down Sora's face, and his heart continued crumbling to pieces in his chest. Then Donald and Goofy walked up to him, Donald put a hand on his shoulder "Hey don't give up."

Goofy reached around to his other shoulder and they helped him to his feet. "We thought ya might be able to use a couple more half-pints." Goofy added.

"Donald….Goofy…" he said turning to each of them.

Donald walked a few steps towards the tower "Typical. You can't do anything without us, Sora. Now wipe those tears, and let's go stop Master Xehanort

" "Yeah…but…how. He's got Kairi….."

"You, worried?" a new voice said, they looked up to see Roxas, Axel and Xion walking towards them.

Soon the others joined them as well "Guys." Sora breathed.

"Sorry we took so long." Axel said.

"Master Xehanort" Terra breathed, as they looked up see him floating in front of Kingdom Hearts. "So what now?" Ventus asked, Aqua looked down in shame that she didn't have the answer. "We've still got one hope" King Mickey added.

"What hope?" Ventus asked.

Riku continued "Its Xehanort. During the Mark of Mastery exam, we learned that he can transcend space and time. He's a portal. And we can use that to trap him."

King Mickey nodded "But, it won't be easy. Aqua, Riku. I'll need both your help if we're gonna push Xehanort out of this world"

"Undestood." Aqua breathed. She moved to get closer, but not before Sora could jump in front of her.

"Wait. I'll do it."

"What?" Riku asked.

"Kingdom Hearts is a much bigger threat, if the worst happens….I'd rather have you guys out here to keep it shut" everyone stood silently thinking it over, before nodding in agreement one by one.

"Okay. Sora." King Mickey replied.

"I got this." Sora said walking towards the tower, seconds later Goofy and Donald joined him "You can't forget about us" Donald said. Goofy nodded "Without Keyblades, it's not like we'll be much help here." They held put their hands together "Three half pints together again" Sora said, they all nodded in agreement.

With that they broke apart and he stepped forward holding his keyblade upward to the Kingdom Hearts in the sky. Then Namine held up her keyblade as well, and then Roxas. Soon everyone was aiming their keyblade upward. Sora spun his keyblade around a few times, before holding it outward and twisted it around. Then he held it up with everyone else's, at once all of their keyblades began to glow, before realeasing various forms of light, which then made their way up to Master Xehanort, striking him in the chest. Donald and Goofy grabbed onto Sora's belt, and then seconds later they changed into a yellow orb, shooting up towards where Xehanort was floating. The second they struck him, all that could be seen on the ground was a bright light, which then faded out of existence.

Sora awoke, in a completely new area. "Whoa. Where are we?" they looked to be on a pier, surrounded by stunningly beautiful water. Off in the distance were some homes, and beyond that towers connected to one another by cable cars. They wandered down the long pier towards the town, until suddenly Sora heard someone gasping for air off his right side. Turning to his right, he moved towards a nearby bench and peaked around. Suddenly his breath caught in his throat, and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. There struggling to stand up, was a tall girl with red hair and deep blue eyes, one he'd recognize anywhere.

"Kairi!"

She slowly looked up at him, eyes going wide in shock "Sora!" she leapt up and pulled him into the tightest hug of his life. He hugged back "I thought I lost you…" she squeezed "Remember what I said? Next time I'm coming with you" he smiled "You did"

They broke free and stared lovingly into one another's eyes. "I'm so glad you're ok" he breathed. She smiled "I'm glad you're ok" then as always, with imperfect timing Goofy interrupted.

"Ugh guys? How is it possible Kairi ended up here?"

She sighed, "After I grabbed Xehanort's keyblade, and he sent me through the corridors of darkness. I ended up on our island only it wasn't our island. It didn't have the clubhouse, the raft we'd built, it was just empty. I wandered around for a while calling out to you guys but there was no answer. Then out of nowhere I felt you Sora. Then off in the distance was a keyhole. I unlocked it with my keyblade, and then I ended up here"

Sora nodded "It must have been when I struck Xehanort." She smiled "Our hearts must have connected, thank you Sora"

He smiled back, "Don't mention it Kairi." They stared into each other's eyes for another moment before Kairi looked away, "We should get going" Sora's face softened for a moment before giving a nod, "Right!" together again, they headed into the town.

**Alrighty so I want to explain this now. The world Kairi was in was Destiny Island from many centuries ago, before anyone ever inhabited it hence why she couldn't find anyone or anything familiar. What do ya'll think of the chapter? Is it a good thing Sora was able to bring Kairi back? Or not? Let me know in the comments! See you in the next one.**


	15. Has It All Been Worth It?

**Hero of Neutrailiy: Happy to hear you love it ****. ALSO I AGREE 10000%! It would have been so much better imo!**

**Gracekim20: I see what you did there ;)**

**ONWARD! **

The four of them entered this stunningly beautiful place, "Where is everyone?" Sora asked as they stepped off the pier. Suddenly, Kairi sensed darkness nearby and turned her head to see a man in a dark cloak casually walking through town. "Sora"

He turned to her "What? Wait, is that-"

"I don't know, we gotta find out. Lead the way" he nodded and ran up front following the hooded figure. It lead them into a nearby house, that featured a dining room table, a kitchen and a small bedroom but still no figure.

Sora wandered around curiously. "Where'd he go?"

Goofy scratched his head "Maybe we should go back outside"

Kairi frowned "He was just here…" Sora wandered into the bedroom, finding it also empty with the exception of one lone chess piece.

"Huh that's weird" Sora reached down to pick it up. Suddenly, Kairi's heart throbbed in her chest "Sora don't touch-" suddenly there was a white flash, which blinded all of them temporarly.

When Sora's vision returned, he found himself in a place that was all darkness, "Where am I? Kairi! Donald! Goofy!" then suddenly out of nowhere, there were Xehanort and Xemnas.

"You let them beat you?!" Master Xehanort complained.

Xemnas lowered his head "Forgive me master, the boy and his friend proved to be more formidable opponents"

"Do you realize what this means?!" Xemnas sighed but did not speak.

Master Xehanort sighed "I should have figured as such, perhaps I underestimated the boy and his keyblade. A mistake I shall not make again best be sure."

"So what now Master?"

Xehanort smiled "Well if we can't go after the boy and his friend, then that leaves us with just one option"

Xemnas' eyes grew wide "The princess? Master, that likely won't be an easy task, it could-"

"It will, in due time. I'll have her and Sora will have no choice but to spar with me."

"I won't let you down again master"

"See to it that you don't."

Then suddenly another flash of light blinded Sora, and when he came to there she was. "Sora! Are you ok?"

He nodded, as she slowly helped him to his feet stood up "What happened?"

"You passed out" Goofy stated.

"Did I? Must have been that chess piece I grabbed"

"What happened?" Kairi inquired, he sighed and explained what he'd seen.

"Sounds like they've been working on this for a while then" Kairi said.

Sora sighed "Kairi. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you"

She smiled "Its ok, I'm just happy I'm able to protect you this time"

He smiled back "Anyways, I'm alright let's continue on"

They wandered back out onto the streets, finding a few chests here and there with potions. Until finally, another hooded figure raced past them heading up the walls to the rooftop. Sora and Kairi chased after out, leaving Donald and Goofy behind. They chased it higher and higher, no matter how fast they ran it was always just a hair out of reach, until finally they reached the top where there was a platform. The figure teleported into a cable car, standing very calmly in the middle. They jumped onto it just as it left the station, trying not to look down at what was easily a 300 foot drop. However once again, just as they could get inside the figure disappeared.

"Where'd he go?!"

"Sora calm down, I don't know but we need to find a way to get back down first, wait"

Hhe frowned as she moved to the front most seat. "What is it?" she froze suddenly, before slowly turning around holding something in her hand. Sora gasped "Wha-how did that get up here?!"

Kairi examined the paopu fruit closely "They don't even grow-" suddenly it flashed in her hand before transforming into another chess piece. "Kairi! Put that-" suddenly another white flash.

When the flash faded they found themselves in a very familiar place "Sora. Why are back in the graveyard?"

He froze before slowly looking around. Sure enough they were back in the graveyard, in fact they were high above the graveyard surrounded by pillars. Before either of them could ask anything else, Organization members started to appear on each pillar. Sora summoned his keyblade, "What are you-"

"Sora. Stop. Something's wrong"

He hesitated before unsummoning his keyblade. "What is it?"

"I don't think they can see us"

Soon Xemnas began to speak. "Twelve pieces of the clock I've managed to collect, leaving one more for the taking. I trust one of you was successful?" Xigbar grinned, summoning the last one and tossing it to him. "Catch!" Xemnas grabbed it with his hand, the too familiar evil smile covered his face as he summoned something in his other hand. It was a clock, all black with white roman numerals however the arms on the clock were spinning unbelievably fast.

"I know what this is" Kairi breathed.

Sora frowned "Huh? What?"

Master Xehanort continued. "Ansem the Wise made this spell by accident, when he was trying to find a way to create more time for his research. He decided to destroy the clock and split it into thirteen different pieces. However, he made one mistake"

"What?" Larxene breathed.

"He shouldn't have chosen my master to do the job" before anyone else could speak, he put the last piece into the clock.

Suddenly, there was a huge surge of energy, causing a shockwave that nearly knocked the other organization members off. "Now that silly boy and his friends will stand no chance. For the next 3 years, he's as good as gone" Using dark magic he floated the clock in front of him, then Xehanort held his Keyblade up towards the sky "BRISK!" a surge of light shot out of the clock and into Xehanort's keyblade, before firing off into the sky towards San Fransokyo.

Then a huge flash of light covered their vision once more, and they were back in the cable car. Both of them slowly stood back up "Sora…"

"Ansem never told me."

"He didn't tell me either"

Sora's face softened, "I could've lost you…."

Kairi sighed "You'll never lose me, our hearts are connected. "I'm always right here" she placed her hand on his chest. He smiled "Right!" she smiled back and lowered her hand as the cable car reached the other side. "Sora. It doesn't matter what happened then, it matters what happens next" she grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. He blushed giving it a squeeze back, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Lets go!"

They let go and made their way back down below, just as Donald and Goofy came around the corner.

"Sora! Kairi! There you are!" Goofy pointed out

. "Are you ok?" Donald squawked.

Sora nodded "You guys find him?" they looked at each other before turning back to them and shaking their heads. "Well then we should keep moving" Kairi stated, Sora gave a nod and led them into the next area.

Then they saw another Xehanort walking into a different building, and raced after him. This building appeared to be a former resteraunt, with endless tables and a cashier's table. "How does he keep disappearing?" Sora asked, stepping towards the back.

Kairi followed him slowly "Sora don't touch anything" he nodded as they entered the kitchen.

Everything appeared normal, yet still the place was abandoned. "I guess we better-"

"Sora! Look out!" Kairi called as a knife fell from an overhead rack. Sora reflexively grabbed the knife with his hand, just as it began to glow. Kairi bit her lip, and took a chance grabbing it as well "Kairi what are you-" a flash of light cut him off completely. Then to their surprise, they were back on Destiny Island.

Kairi looked around confused, "What?"

Sora frowned "Is this where he left you when-"

"No….its different, look there's the clubhouse" Sora turned, surprised to see it there along with everything else they remembered. "So then what's-" on cue Xemnas appeared, walking over to an area just on the other side of the bridge.

They slowly followed, hoping that they wouldn't be seen, and then when they reached the other side a gasp escaped their lips. There standing by their raft, was Master Xehanort,

"I was wondering when you'd show"

"Master…"

"You've never been a good liar Xemnas"

He sighed "The boy is still on that world, we're in the second year, but Master. His friends have been…..difficult"

Master Xehanort nodded "You've got thirteen members yes? You should've been able to get some of them by now."

"Master. What will you do when the boy is released from the spell? His friends are growing stronger by the day, including the girl"

Master Xehanort sighed, and for a moment didn't say anything. "The balance between light and darkness must be restored, regardless of the costs. I care not about the boy, or your excuses. We're close now, the battle will be won one way or the other."

"Master. I am sorry"

Xehanort looked out to the horizon "I remember being on this island as a small boy. Living In this tiny place, I always knew there was something greater out there. Another purpose, another choice"

Xemnas nodded slightly "Did you know this was your destiny?"

Master Xehanort sighed and was silent for a moment. "I knew I was destined for something greater, we all have our destinies Xemnas"

"What will you do once balance is restored?"

Master Xehanort let out a heavy sigh "Rest"

"We've gotten rid of the boy, separated him from his friends and spread darkness on an unimaginable scale. Master, if I may ask…."

"Yes?"

"Is it worth it?" Master Xehanort smirked slightly. Then, a white flash blocked out their vision once more.

They woke up on the kitchen floor, with Donald and Goofy chanting their names "Alright enough already! We're fine" Sora whined standing back up and dusting himself off. Kairi got back up as well, "I didn't know he was from the island"

"Me either…..this time he's not getting away. Let's go." They hurried back outside ended up at the bottom of a set of stairs, where yet another figure lay ahead, this time without the cloak.

"Of all the places to be sent."

Sora's eyes grew wide "Master Xehanort!"

He turned to them. "Behold, this town….once a seat of power for all Keyblade wielders. It is the nexus from which all worlds spring. Suddenly the other hooded figures arrived, and began merging themselves with Master Xehanort's body, "Here I, and my other selves can be one. United….in Scala ad Caelum. Now, we finish this once and for all" then, before they could react he attacked.

**Well there it is, the beginning of the final fight. For all those who have read this far I want to say thank you, regardless if you commented or not I truly appreciate you taking the time to read what I've written. Please let me know what you thought of the Xehanort flashbacks! See ya'll in the next chapter! **


	16. Its Time To End This!

**Going to keep my authors notes to a minimum in this chapter. Thank you to DarkMythos for the follow. **

Before they could react, the entire terrain changed. The building in front of them sank into the ground, before rising rapidly underneath the feet, knocking out a large amount of health. They leapt downward, managing to get a few hits in before he disappeared, reappearing from where they had just jumped down from before charging at them head on.

Sora yelled as he managed to get in a few direct hits. Kairi jumped in, swinging away with her keyblade while Donald fired off bolt after bolt of thunder. Then Kairi hopped out of the way, so Goofy could charge Xehanort with his shield, shoving him away from Sora. Then Xehanort levitated upward, and began firing dark attacks from above. Quickly healing himself, Sora leapt up to where he was and began clobbering him with his keyblade.

Surprisingly, he was able to get a few hits in before Master Xehanort disappeared once more. He reappeared several a few building away, and began hurling various objects such as doors, benches and even bits of the stairs they'd just been in front of. Donald and Goofy moved to the front, blocking as much as they could while Sora and Kairi made began leaping over them towards Xehanort. However just as they were about to reach him, he vanished yet again. They landed in a nearby courtyard, just as Donald and Goofy rejoined them, he reappeared and smirked. Then suddenly a hole in the ground appeared where they stood, and with nothing to grab onto they soon found themselves falling. Landing on their feet, they immediately realized something had changed. They were in front of the same steps, but the sky was completely black. Then Xehanort reappeared, but not in the way they were expecting.

Somehow, he was looking at them facing upside down. They looked up at his face staring down at them before they struck. Kairi jumped upward, firing off orb after orb of light while Sora rushed up to him from behind. Surprisingly, they managed to get quite a few hits in, taking out a good chunk of his health. Then Master Xehanort reacted, he vanished yet again before reappearing and summoning columns of lightning all around them. They did their best to dodge it and get closer, but it was to no avail. Sora's heart ached in his chest, not just from the pain he was experiencing but the sound of Kairi screaming at the top of her lungs. He felt the rage of his best friend being hurt rise up inside him, before taking a moment to remember what Kairi said. That's what he wants, for me to get angry that's why he struck her to begin with, well I'm not falling for it this time.

Healing the two of them, they jumped back into the fight once more. Despite Xehanort's best attempts, including more charges at them and more lightning they still managed to get in quite a few more hits before he changed the landscape yet again. This time he turned the ground they were standing on upside down, and as they fell he opened a dark portal for them to fall into. When they came to, they found themselves underwater, in what looked to be the remains of a town. They gasped for air in panic, before realizing they could somehow still breathe. "

Sora! Kairi!" Donald called, they turned to see Xehanort was gone.

"Look out!" Goofy leapt behind them using his shield to block Xehanort's attempt to charge them once more.

"Thanks! Sora, lets go!" Kairi called, he nodded and followed behind.

Even though they hadn't been fighting together long, the four of them worked together amazingly well. When Sora's focus was attacking from the front, Kairi's was focused on behind, when he went high she went low, when he went low she went high. Even though he was able to do an impressive amount of damage, Master Xehanort's health was taking a bigger hit. Of course Donald and Goofy weren't forgotten, with Donald summoning spell after powerful spell while also healing Sora and Kairi whenever they needed it. While Goofy used his shield to block off as many of Xehanort's attacks from Sora and Kairi as much as he could. The more damage they did, the faster Xehanort's attacks became. Kairi quickly healed her and Sora before jumping back into battle. We're not gonna give up. Not now. Or ever. "This is it!" Sora called, swinging his keyblade into him, just as she swung her keyblade from behind. The impact created an underwater shockwave so large, it leveled some of the buildings in the town surrounding them. Then yet again, a bright white flash took up all of their vision.

They then found themselves on a platform high above Scala ad Caelum. The platform was mostly gold and white and featured a propeller on each side of it. They all slowly rose to their feet, "Where are we?" Kairi breathed, before anyone could answer Master Xehanort reappeared.

Sora summoned his keyblade and pointed it towards him "Its all over Xehanort!"

"You thought you could contain me here….knowing all that you do about connections? You may have gotten lucky up to this point. However, here and now your luck has run out. I shall destroy the things that matter most to you, and then I the x-blade shall be mine"

Suddenly he levitated up into the air, and using dark magic created another platform on top of the one they were standing on, and lifted them high up into the air. Suddenly the clouds parted, and there was Kingdom Hearts. "We can't let him win! Its time to end this!"

"Kairi! We'll do it together" she hesitated before giving him a slight smile "Ok, lets do this" they turned their attention back to him, and the battle commenced.

At first they couldn't even get close to him, as he began bombarding them with ball after ball of dark magic, even with Goofy and his shield they suffered a few hits. Standing back up again, Sora leapt straight at him and began wailing away with his keyblade, only managing to get a few hits in before Xehanort teleported away, reappearing below. He fired off a few shots towards Sora, before spinning around to block Kairi off. Then Kairi teleported away, momentarily distracting Xehanort in time for Sora to team up with Donald and commence thier meteor attack.

Xehanort grunted as they managed to get a few hits in, then as the attack cleared there once again was Kairi. She fired off several balls of fire, before teleporting away once more reappearing behind him to take a swing, however this time he saw it coming and teleported away. Kairi screamed as her own fireballs smashed into her, knocking out half her health. "Kairi!" Sora called before getting hit from behind by one of Xehanort's balls of dark magic. Kairi rushed to his side and healed both of them "Pay attention!"

"I am!"

"To the fight Sora!" with little time to argue, the duo jumped back in.

The pacing of the fight was relentless they couldn't even blink their eyes before Xehanort would summon yet another attack. Even when they weren't ready for it, they still got back up. They still kept fighting for what they believe in, they still wouldn't give up. They managed to get his health down towards the end, but before they could do anything else, the area changed again.

This time the platform was made out of completely water just like in The Final World. Then thirteen towers rose out from beneath, each with a Master Xehanort clone. As they began to run up to the middle pier where they figured the real Xehanort was, suddenly the clones began rushing them from all sides. This time all four of them took quite a big of damage, especially Kairi who the attacks seemed to be extra focused on. Then if that wasn't enough, the real Master Xehanort in the middle chair, began firing off powerful beams of energy toward them. It did quite a bit of damage, but Sora used magic to heal everyone.

"I'm sorry Kairi"

"Its fine, lets just end this!"

It wasn't an easy task, they were relentlessly fast. However, they were missing one thing that the four of them all had. Heart. With the clones out of the way, the battlefield returned to its former state. They went back to work on the real Master Xehanort, who stepped up his attacks even more. Teleporting faster and faster, however this also came at a price. They soon noticed he was having to stop and take breaks more often, creating openings for them to attack.

However just as they got him down to the last health bar

"This ends here and now!" Master Xehanort bellowed. Summoning his keyblade, he fired off a powerful beam of energy straight at Sora, who held up his keyblade to block it.

"Sora! No!" Kairi called rushing over to his side to help. Donald and Goofy joined them. He looked around to his friends, smiling in appreciation. With his friends as his power, he swatted the beam away and pointed his keyblade upward. Suddenly the area they were standing in grew into a bright crown shaped symbol, and a beam of white light fired outward just as Master Xehanort was taking his second shot. The light quickly overpowered the darkness, and just like that the battle was over.

**See ya'll in the next chapter, let me know what you think! **


	17. Epilogue

**There are now only two chapters left including this one ****. Again to those who have read regardless if you've been here since day one or not, I want to take a moment and say thank you. It has truly been a journey writing this and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much I've enjoyed writing it. Here are my replies to the comments.**

**Draconic: I am very sorry about that. I struggle breaking up paragraphs too much vs too little if I'm honest. I appreciate your feedback and have made the changes you requested, not sure if you are reading this but thank you for taking the time to post that.**

**GraceKim20: Yes sadly, the saga is coming to a close. Happy to hear you liked the fight sequence! Sounds good! **

**Also want to thank huntinton1998 for the favorite/follow! **

Xehanort stumbled to the ground, as his body faded into darkness. He attempted to get up, only to find himself falling again "Why? How?"

Sora desummoned his keyblade "Its over now! You lost!"

"No, you're wrong. Soon the x-blade will form and I shall make everything right if it takes every last bit of my soul"

Kairi frowned "Why can't you just leave it alone?!"

He sighed and struggled to stand once more, managing to get up on one knee. "So the world can be returned to whence it started. The world began in darkness. And from that darkness came light. From the light came the people, and the people had hearts. Evil burgeouned in those hearts, begetting more darkness. And the darkness spread across the world, like a plague. The light, the symbol of the world's hope, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin….an utter failure. But the first light- the light of Kingdom Hearts can give us a new start. An empty world, pure and bright…." On cue the other twelve keyblades reappeared, along with a thirteenth that then combined the form the x-blade.

The massive blade landed just within Xehanort's reach, struggling to stay alive he grabbed it and slowly began to stand. As he did this, suddenly Kingdom Hearts changed color to a dark deep orange.

"It wasn't your decision to make." Sora said.

Master Xehanort hesitated before standing back up "Then whose was it?"

"A real leader knows that destiny is beyond his control, and accepts that." 4

They stared into each other's eyes in silence for a moment, before Xehanort looked down, cracking a slight smile. "You…make me think of an old friend"

"Look!" Goofy said pointing upward as Kingdom Hearts changed color.

Suddenly there was a bright flash, as it transformed into a keyhole surrounded by orange, which was then surrounded by a ring of blue. Then beams of light began firing out of it, one after another shot down taking on human form just before touching the ground. Aqua, Xion, Namine, Roxas the whole group soon joined them on the platform.

"You made it!" Donald pointed out.

King Mickey rushed forward "Are you all alright?" everyone in the group nodded.

"How did you guys get here?" Kairi asked.

RIku walked up to them, "We managed to follow our hearts to you."

Sora nodded and gave a smile as Terra turned to Xehanort "Master Xehanort" he began walking towards him, only to be stopped by a soft warm hand. He turned to see Aqua standing behind him, they stared deeply into each other's eyes before she let go. He moved closer to him before stopping, and then silence. They stared deeply into one another's eyes before Terra broke the silence, "There's more to light than meets the eye. As I told you."

Master Xehanort's eyes grew wide "You sly fox…."

Suddenly Terra's body began to glow, and a single white orb floated out of his body. The orb then took on the human form, of Master Eraqus. Aqua and Ventus' eyes grew wide, as he began to speak "Now hand over the x-blade, Xehanort."

He held it outward "No. I can do this" Eraqus calmly walked up to him, gently grabbing his arm "Enough. Checkmate."

Their minds flashed back briefly to the time when they played chess together. A very young Xehanort looked at the chessboard confused, Young Eraqus smiled "I told you that you might be surprised" Xehanort sighed "Yeah, you got me" Eraqus' mouth fell open. "Huh? Really?"

"What?"

"It's just, you never admit it when you lose"

"That's cause I never lose"

"Oh come on" they laughed for a moment.

Xehanort continued "Good game today"

"I try"

"Maybe I won't go as far as you"

"Huh?"

"When the world needs a defender, they'll pick you, Eraqus."

Eraqus reached behind his head nervously "Y-you think?" Xehanort nodded "But that doesn't mean that I can't be there for you" "Yeah. And I'll be there for you" they laughed once more, as the flashback ended.

Back in the present Master Xehanort slowly walked over to Sora, and handed the x-blade to him, "Very well done"

Sora's eyes grew wide, as he slowly reached out and took it, "It didn't have to be this way…."

"Its like you say. A real leader knows destiny is beyond his control."

Master Eraqus turned to his trio of students, "Terra. Aqua. Ven. Forgive your foolish teacher." Ventus and Aqua ran up to hug him tightly, with Terra joining shortly after. "Ven, I put you through such a harrowing experience." Tears fell from Ven's face as Master Eraqus continued "And Aqua. I left you with such a heavy burden." Aqua sobbed in response. "Terra, look after them for me. Please"

"Of course Master" Xehanort stared at them curiously, wondering if he could ever have something like that in his life.

Then his body began to give, but just before he could fall Eraqus grabbed him "Here." Xehanort turned to him

"Forgive me?"

Master Eraqus sighed and draped Xehanort's arm over his shoulder. "In time old friend. In time." Xehanort looked down in shame, as the two of them floating upward, transforming into two hears which soon disappeared into the sky.

Everyone looked upward in awe of what had transpired, then Kairi stepped up to his side "Sora. Lets seal Kingdom Hearts once and for all."

He turned to her, smiled and gave a nod before holding the x-blade upward in front of him "Everybody help me out" they all gathered around him, and soon their bodies began to glow. Then all their lights combined into the x-blade before firing upward towards Kingdom Hearts, sealing it away once and for all. Then a flash of bright light blinded all of them, and with that they were back in the graveyard.

"We did it!" Namine said excitingly.

King Mickey nodded "Its finally over"

"Sora" they all turned to see Master Yen Sid standing there. "You saved the others, put their needs before your own and demonstrated the power of waking. Although the journey was not easy, you never let the darkness corrupt your heart. These are all true qualities of a keyblade master. So, it is my duty and honor to proclaim you as such" everyone gasped, Sora's jaw dropped before he began to cheer.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed stifling a giggle. "Oh right"

Sora chuckled nervously before taking a bow "Thank you Master Yen Sid"

Master Yen Sid smiled "We should be the ones thanking you" suddenly he kneeled down, and then so did King Mickey, and Aqua, Terra, Ven. Soon everyone except the Destiny Trio was on their knees, heads bowed in respect. Sora, Riku and Kairi's eyes grew wide in shock, they'd always wanted to see new worlds but they'd never imagined something quite like this before.

**KH**

_Epilogue_

Roxas looked around the Haunted Mansion, as countless memories from the past swirled through his mind. He brushed them off and smiled, I finally did it.

"What are you smiling at?"

He turned to see Axel and Xion stepping inside. Xion now wore a black mini dress complete with buttons on each side, and a white lined skirt. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering what next dumb idea you're gonna come up with next"

Xion giggled while Axel held up a first "Hey! Take that back!"

Roxas smiled and moved over to his friends "We can work this out later, what do you guys think?" they looked around the mansion.

Xion shrugged "It's a house"

Roxas' smile grew wider "But can we make it our home?" her face softened, and tears began to fall from her eyes.

He reached out and wiped them away, she smiled "You'll always be my friend Roxas"

He smiled back "And you mine"

"Wait, so you two don't…." Axel blurted. They turned to him and frowned in confusion "Wait what?" Roxas stammered.

Axel's face turned red "N-nothing! Lets check out the backyard"

Xion's eyes grew wide "Wait, you thought we were-"

"Enough! Backyard. This way."

"What's going on in here?" a new soft voice said.

They turned to see Namine standing in the doorway, "Namine" Roxas breathed.

She smiled "The others are um, waiting for us at the clocktower. Then we're supposed to head to the island. Sorry to interrupt, I'll see you guys-"

"No wait, guys go on ahead I need to talk to Namine"

Xion nodded "Don't take too long"

Moments later, they stood alone in the main room, staring deeply into one another's eyes. Namine broke the silence "I can't believe its over"

"Me either, Namine. We're free"

She smiled "We are"

"Namine. I…."

"Yes?"

He sighed "I, wanted to ask you um, how is it you were able to wield two Keyblades?"

"Oh. That. Well think about it, I was made when Kairi's heart left Sora's body, Kairi's heart has no darkness in it, so if it wasn't for Sora's heart-"

"You wouldn't exist"

"When you were made, Sora's heart contained Ventus as well hence why you two look alike, and since you can dual wield…."

He smiled "Well I guess when you put it that way….."

Namine giggled "I just did a lot of reading for the Mark of Mastery, Master Yen Sid filled in the rest"

Roxas took a breath "Its just You….never did that before"

"Was saving it for when I really needed it. But we should really-"

"Wait. One more thing"

"Hm?"

He took a deep breath "We've been through a lot, and….well you're an amazing friend"

Her smile grew wider "I would say the same"

"But, I mean do you see us as….."

Her breath caught in her throat "As something…" although she couldn't finish the sentence, each of them knew what the other was implying. Roxas looked down at the ground in shame, what a dumb question to ask.

She blushed "I….I don't know but…Roxas."

"What?"

"Look at me" he took a breath and did so, surprised to see her still smiling.

"I'd like to find out"

His jaw dropped "R-really"

She nodded and stuck out her hand "Come on, the others are waiting for us" he took a breath, before stepping forward and placing his hand in hers.

A little while later, they joined Axel and Xion up on the clocktower who already had sea salt ice cream in hand. "I got you an extra" Xion said handing it to Namine.

She smiled, taking it from her "Thanks. So how does it feel to be back together again?"

Axel leaned back, reminiscing about the memories they'd shared "Long overdue"

Roxas nodded "Like I've got my true family now" X

ion smiled "What he said"

"Got room for a few more?" they looked up to see Saix, Hayner, Pence and Olette. Roxas nodded and they all scooted over, watching peacefully as the sun went down while licking their ice cream.

Meanwhile back at Castle Oblivion, Aqua Terra and Ventus were paying their respects to their Master by giving him a proper burial. The three of them were on their knees with their heads bowed in silence. "Goodbye Master. I hope the three of us continue to make you proud" Aqua breathed. Terra and Ventus each grabbed a shoulder for support, before they stood back up after a moment the three of them slowly stood. With one last deep breath, they each placed their wayfinders at his grave before turning to walk away.

Then just as they were headed inside, Ventus noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He stopped to turn and look, his eyes widened in excitement to see Chirithy who quickly hid in fear until Roxas opened his arms. Chirithy then ran up allowing Roxas to pull it into a hug before heading back inside.

"Oh look who joined us" Aqua said.

Terra shook his head "Oh goodness"

Ventus smiled as it jumped around in his arms. "Can we keep it? Please?"

Aqua smiled "We'll discuss this, and many other things later. Now we've got to get ready to board the ship"

Ventus smiled back "You two sure have a lot to discuss"

Aqua's smile fell, "What was that?"

"Nothing"

Terra smiled "Watch it"

Back at Disney Castle Mickey and Donald were finally being reunited with their loved ones. Minnie pulled Mickey into a tight hug, while Daisy stood still "You back for good this time?"

"Oh come on Daisy….."

"You promise?"

"Ohhhhh, fine. I promise" she smiled and pulled him into a hug as well. Master Yen Sid and Goofy trailed in behind them, watching in awe as endless fireworks began racing through the sky. "We really did it" Goofy breathed.

Master Yen Sid smiled the widest he ever had in his lifetime, "We did"

Meanwhile back on Destiny Island, Sora, Riku and Kairi had some time to kill before the others arrived. "Lets um, stay away from the beach for now" Kairi stammere.

Sora smiled "Afraid they'll be another bottle"

"Shhhhh"

Riku laughed, "We've definitely come a long way since then, great job. Both of you"

Kairi smiled "Now what will we do? Finishing the raft is pointless"

"Oh come on Kairi, when has that stopped us before?" Riku stated.

Kairi smiled "I guess I forgot who I was talking to. Well in any case, its good to be here but it wouldn't be home without you guys" they each smiled and gave a nod. A little while later the others arrived, and they started to celebrate.

"Sora, can I talk to you?" Kairi said.

Sora sighed truthfully he wanted nothing more but there was still one thing he needed to finish "There's one last thing I gotta do"

She sighed before giving a nod "Meet me at the tree then, and don't take too long this time" he smiled and stepped away.

Moments later he found who he was looking for, "Namine?"

Her and Roxas turned around "Sora. Hey, care to join us?" Roxas asked. He smiled nervously. "Kairis waiting but…." He stopped, turning to face Namine head on "Before I…well. Namine, thank you"

Her breath caught in her throat and tears began to fill her eyes. "Sora….."

"A promise is a promise." She smiled and wiped a few tears away, "You're welcome" Roxas smiled as well "You better get outta here, I think she's waited long enough"

Sora smiled and gave a nod, "Right! See you later!"

Later on Roxas, Saix and Axel found themselves on the beach playing Frisbee, while Namine and Xion walked along the water collecting seashells. Meanwhile Hayner, Pnece and Olette were attempting to build a sand sculpture of King Mickey, while Donald posed in front of his already completed statue, which was then promptly destroyed by the Frisbee Roxas had thrown. Donald moved in to throw a tantrum, only to be stopped by the king. This truly was the life they'd all been fighting for, "Guys!" Axel called pointing upward. Everyone looked to the tree with the bend in it. Sitting on that tree alone, were Sora and Kairi. They sat silently watching the stunningly beautiful sunset, before slowing turning to one another. Kairi moved her hand over his and gave a light squeeze, Sora blushed squeezing back before looking away. Kairi reached out, turning his face back to hers before leaning closer. Sora's eyes grew wide, and he soon found himself leaning closer as well. Until finally after what felt like an eternity, they close their eyes as their lips met. Their friends on the beach, cheered, clapped and hollered in excitement. Then the kiss deepened, and their hearts grew warmer than they ever had been the connection having grown deeper than either of them could've ever imagined, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

**FINALLY A SOKAI KISS MY GOODNESS! The next chapter is my short post credits scene which has a few key differences to the game. See you there! **


	18. Post Credits

Back in the Keyblade Graveyard, the Gazing Eye laid in the ground, looking around curiously only to be picked up seconds later. "Finally, back where it belongs" a voice said before noticing a swirl off in the distance. Then one by one, the Foretellers began walking towards the hooded figure.

"Did you summon us back?" one of them asked.

"Yep"

"Is that you, Luxu? You look different" suddenly the hooded figure removed his cloak.

"Haven't heard that name in a long time. These days they call me Xigbar, but hey whatever suits you"

"What happened? Why are we here?!"

Xigbar held up the keyblade, "I had a role to play. And after all these years, it's done."

"What role?" he looked around curiously, "I guess Ava didn't make it after all"

"I told her clear as day"

"Is that why you decided to exclude her?"

"As if. Ava had her own mission, and she carried it out"

"I've heard enough! Luxu, what was your role?!" he smiled but said nothing, before turning to the black box "I hope you like long stories"

Meanwhile Demyx was stepping out of the dark portal and into the library. The place was completely deserted, he sighed in frustration.

"Always late"

"As if, I'm right on time"

Demyx turned to see a man in a dark robe walking towards him. "Huh, if you say so"

"Now is that any way to talk to me?"

"Sorry mom"

"What?"

"You know mom? Master of-" He laughed whole heartedly "I'm just messin with you! Do they suspect anything?"

Demyx smiled wide "Nothing at all, what's next?"

"Let me start at the beginning…."

**And that ladies and gentlemen is how we do that. I want to thank you all for reading through this, I hope I did an ok job at giving the story justice. I'm sure it isn't perfect, but given the complexity of the KH universe it was the best I could do. Again Runa, CometEJay00, and Iamkingdomhearts1000, thank you all so much for your contributions, this story would not have become what it is without you. To all the readers, regardless if you commented or not, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I seriously cannot put it into words how much I appreciate you all, so thank you so much! I do not yet know if I will publish another story, only time will tell. In the meantime may your heart be your guiding key. Now and always. -04JETTA**


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